The Gossip Stone
by SirJoshizzle
Summary: "No way in hell would I ever fall in love with you!" Zelda yelled at him. Link stopped mid-step out the door at her outburst, back still turned to her. He looked over his shoulder, eyes connecting with hers. "Is that a promise?" AU, Link x Zelda, Zelink.
1. Issue I

New story! AU high school set-up, but set around a school paper publishing theme (since I used to be an editor in my school's paper when I was in high school). This project is just me having fun. Hopefully you'll indulge me with your readership, support, and constructive critique as it comes along.

I do not own _The Legend of Zelda._

* * *

The Gossip Stone  
SirJoshizzle

"What do you do for yer extra-curricular activities?"

Zelda Harkinian, 16 year old third year student at East Castle Town Prep School, simply stared blankly at her guidance counselor, Miss Telma Louise, in response to the question. "…Sorry?"

Miss Telma, as she liked her counselees to refer to her as, smiled back. "Extra-curriculars, honey. Not to say yer grades aren't good; they're fantastic, even!" She turned Zelda's transcript to her so that she could see across her desk and pointed somewhere near the top of the page. "See there? Yer ranked eighth in your class of 350 students."

Zelda leaned forward to get a better look. She knew that she must have been doing well in school, but she didn't think anywhere _that_ well.

"But y'see, honey," Miss Telma slipped her glasses back on from the chain that hung them around her neck. "Grades these days aren't enough to get'cha into a good university. They like the well-rounded kids; they do well 'n school—_and_ outside of it. I'm sure you've heard that kind of thing before."

That'd be understating it, to be honest.

"Have you done anything? Playin' a sport? Student government? Be a club member or officer, even?"

"…No," Zelda replied. Despite both her parents and teachers all over campus advocating student involvement in such things, she'd been so caught up in school and trying to do well, she didn't really have time to consider anything like that. Or more like, she had spent the first two years of high school under the impression that if her grades were high enough, it'd be enough to forgo putting any more effort than she was already expending studying.

"Yer in yer third year right now, so it's not necessarily too late to join a club or a sport or something." Miss Louise got up from her desk and walked over to a bookcase behind her. On top of it were individually stacked club membership applications and sports teams' registration forms. "But if you're going to start, now's definitely the time to do it. Yer third year is the one they're 'specially lookin' at. What sports interest you?"

"I don't play sports, Miss Telma." Of all things Zelda _couldn't_ do, anything athletic was at the top of the list.

"Not even any interest?"

"Not really."

"How about a club? It's the beginnin' of the school year, so there'll be clubs settin' up orientation booths around campus. You never looked at any of em?"

"…No, I haven't," Zelda shook her head, and she looked down at her lap where her hands were folded. This wasn't really the kind of talk she was expecting when she first stepped into Miss Telma's office. She'd always kind of known it, but all of those questions were making her realize just how one-sided her high school life has been.

"Hmm…" Miss Telma glossed over the row of forms, adjusting her blouse as she did so to accommodate her ample bust. "…What do you have interest in?"

Zelda looked up at that. "I'm sorry?"

"Hobbies, child!" Miss Telma smiled back to her again. "Interests! Anything you like to do for fun! I take it you don't know just how many different and really active student-run clubs we got here on campus. Just throw somethin' out at me and we'll match you up with something you might like."

Zelda furrowed her brow in thought. When it came to self-introductions, or just talking about herself in general, the one topic she _hated _discussing was her hobbies. Not that she did anything outrageous or socially unacceptable… but just the fact that she didn't really know _what_ her hobbies were. Call her plain or whatever you like, but doing homework, going out with friends, and spending hours on end killing time on the internet didn't sound like activities warranting entire clubs dedicated to them.

"Well… I like to write?"

"Write what?" Miss Telma asked. "Poetry? Fiction?"

Blogs. Arguing with people online. Dirty short stories. Maybe the most latter could have fallen under "fiction." But no way in hell was she going to divulge publicly—to an educator, of all people, that those were the kinds of "writings" she put everything she learned in English class to use to.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Creative writing?" Yeah, "creative" was definitely an appropriate term for all that.

"…How about the school paper?" Miss Telma suggested earnestly.

The school paper? People actually _read_ that stuff? "But… isn't that kind of writing more expository than creative?"

"_The Gossip Stone _ain't just news, dear," Miss Telma laughed. "They got all sorts of articles in there, and they're all student-written! Editorials, opinion articles, sports recaps, entertainment reviews… If you just dropped by and asked, I'm sure they'd have something open for ya."

She handed Zelda the application form. "On top of that, involvement with a school paper reflects real well on you when you'll be applying to universities next year. Even more so if you can manage to land an editorship."

Zelda examined the application. It asked for her contact information, class schedule, grade level, a copy of her transcript… But it was all a formality, right? It's the _school paper_. Not exactly a world class publication.

"You'll need this if you end up applying," Miss Telma handed her one of the copies she made of her transcript. "Which I hope you end up doin', child."

"Thank you…" She slipped the papers into her binder. "Where's their meeting room?"

"Their office is in the north building, room 308."

'Office?' She made it sound like it was something official.

Miss Telma glanced at the wall clock. "They should be meeting now, actually. But their office is open any time after school, usually until grounds close. Really, Zelda. Stop by and just see if you like it. You might be surprised."

* * *

Zelda looked up at the doors to room 308. They were double doors; each with translucent windows with staining that read _THE GOSSIP STONE _across them. Seemed like the whole school paper thing was a lot more official than she initially thought; she had never had a class in the north building before, so how could she have known that such a room for such an underappreciated student organization existed on campus?

She opened one of them, and was surprised to see what kind of room it was inside. It was probably three times the size of a normal classroom that went horizontally, with desks lined up against each other like they were office cubicles without the barriers, and at each of them a computer with students clicking and typing away on word processors. On the far left end of the room were more students at the white board who seemed like they were making some sort of presentation, scribbling and erasing things across the board.

"Can I help you?" A female student, who sat at one of the desks closer to the doors, turned to Zelda.

"Oh," she started kind of nervously. "I'm, actually here to inquire about working for the paper? …Is this where I come to drop off the application form?"

"Yeah," the girl smiled, extending her hand. "I'm Karane."

"Zelda," she smiled back with a nod, accepting the handshake.

"You just need to give it to our editor-in-chief," Karane turned to the far right end of the room, where eight two-seater desks, each with their own computer, were assembled so they made one long table. At them, eight students sat at each of the computers, and at the head of the table, in front of the wall, was a male student addressing them.

"Looks like the editors just finished their meeting," Karane mumbled softly. She turned to Zelda again, gesturing for her to follow her. "Come with me."

Zelda followed a few steps behind, taking her binder out of her tote bag and slipping her filled application out as they approached what apparently was the editor's section.

"Link," Karane called. In response, the male student who sat at the head of the editor's desk, looked up from his computer monitor. Zelda leaned to the side to get a better look at him as she stood behind Karane.

His hair was a pretty shaggy yet somehow kempt dirty blond, almost like a brownish color, which contrasted with his light blue eyes that hid behind thin wire glasses and his light tan complexion. He wasn't wearing his black uniform jacket; his white dress shirt was untucked with the sleeves rolled up, and the top few buttons undone; the red tie he was supposed to have been wearing was hanging off the chair's back with his blazer.

"She'd like to apply for _The Stone_," Karane gestured to Zelda and stepped aside for her.

"Hello," Zelda smiled politely, extending her hand out. "I'm Zelda Harkinian."

"Link." Was all he said in his baritone voice with a simple nod. "Your application?"

Zelda slowly withdrew her hand, her eyes and smile sheepishly faltering; he didn't even bother to lift his in return. She quietly gave him the application packet as he asked.

"Thanks, Karane," he nodded again to her, and she smiled quickly before turning and walking back to her desk.

"I know you don't write this messy normally," he said coolly, eyes quickly reading through the papers. "What, you fill this out while you were walking here?"

Zelda's face hardened at that. He wasn't exactly wrong, but why did he have to be so harsh about it?

"Got writing experience?"

Zelda swallowed quickly. Why was she getting so nervous? "Not for something like this, exactly. But I do a lot of writing on my spare time, as a hobby sort of."

"Got a sample of your writing on you?" He looked up at her. "It'd help to see what kind of writing you're best at."

Almost immediately, she averted her eyes lower so that they didn't meet. "No… Sorry."

Link sighed, almost irritated at that. "Seriously? Well I don't really accept people on the spot and I can't necessarily tell if your writing is up to par for us… But I'm not really in any position to turn you down since not a lot of people applied this year."

Okay, he was taking this school paper thing _way _too seriously.

"Look, if you're good with meeting deadlines and following directions," he started again, "Then you're in. We meet every weekday afterschool until four or so, but most of us come in during lunch and stay even later when deadlines approach, so be prepared to do a lot of clearing of your schedule. We'll make a badge for you tomorrow so you can get into school events for free and out of class and all that, so make sure you look good if you care about how you look in front of a camera."

He reached into his desk drawer for his staff badge and showed it to her. "Looks like this."

She leaned forward to get a better look. It was decorated in East Castle Town Prep School's colors, blue and gold, with a picture of him on the left side. On the right read:

_THE GOSSIP STONE STAFF 20XX-20XX  
__LINK AVALON, 4__th__ YEAR  
__EDITOR-IN-CHIEF_

Oh, so he was graduating the coming spring.

"The staff writers started their meeting not too long ago, so you can go on up ahead and join them." He pointed his pencil over to the large group of students on the opposite end of the room at the white board. "There are two different kinds of writers: staffers are first-timers like you. Executive writers are returning members who didn't get editor spots, but they know their stuff and it's not like they're _completely _incompetent so don't hesitate to ask them for help. The executives'll be talking about the first issue and explaining how to write to the other newbies, so be sure to take notes."

Link spoke up in a loud voice, addressing the staff. "Everyone!"

The entire room turned back to him. "Got a new staff writer." He motioned his hand over to her. "Name's Zelda."

She timidly waved at them all as they greeted her in scattered voices.

"Make her feel welcome," he finished. "That's all."

As the class resumed their business, Zelda thought about what Miss Telma said for a second. _'Involvement with a school paper reflects real well on you when you'll be applying to universities next year. Even more so if you can manage to land an editorship.'_

"Just a question," Zelda started slowly as she turned back to face him. "I'm not expecting it right away, but how long does it take to get an editor position?"

Link cocked an eyebrow at that. The others at the table turned to face her, almost in disbelief.

"Were you expecting to get one right now?"

"...N-no, that's not—"

"Do you even have experience editing _anything_?"

"Not necessa—"

"Let me tell you now." Link turned his swivel chair so that his body was facing her. He crossed his legs so that his ankle rested on this high and leaned back slightly. "If you stay here at _The Stone_ even for your senior year, you can expect graduating _still_ a staff writer," he said flatly.

Zelda stared at him for a second. Did this guy let _anyone_ get a word in edgewise?

"Editors are almost _always_ fourth years," one of the editors quipped. She glanced to the source of the voice. "Sure we get a third year editor once in a while, but you know what they say about not treating yourself like you're an exception."

Zelda furrowed her brow in confusion. What's with them all! _It's just the school paper!_

"You wanna be an editor?" Link asked almost teasingly. "Start off learning the basics: the different writing styles; graphic design for creating the pages; journalism ethics… Don't wanna bother with any of that? Find an internship at a tabloid."

Zelda glared at him for a few seconds. What's his deal! It was just a question!

But then he started chuckling. No, it almost sounded like he was _mocking_ her. "Don't _tell _me that Miss Telma sent you here for some extra-curricular credit or some shit."

She swallowed hard. Her face burned; she could tell her face was flushing a deep, embarrassed red.

He laughed even more at her reaction, taking his glasses off and running a tired hand through his hair. "Nail on the head, right? Damn, I told Miss Telma to quit doing that to us…"

"I'm sorry," Zelda's voice shook. She felt a myriad of emotions boiling in her blood at that moment, and none of them were positive. Once again, this _Link_ wasn't entirely wrong about her. Yes, she half-heartedly filled the application. Yes, the only reason she even bothered with it was because Miss Telma told her to. And yes, her primary concern was to land a high position in the staff as fast as possible for her future college application's sake, but none of that gave him the excuse to be so… "But aren't you taking the school paper just a seriously—"

"_A _little_ too seriously_!_"_

The entire room fell silent; the staff writers, who were in the middle of a surprisingly productive meeting, all turned to the editors' desks. Link was now at his feet, intimidatingly shadowing Zelda. Her head was turned up so she could face him, her wide violet eyes drilled into by his light blue. Wow, she didn't expect him to be so tall.

…_so mean._

"Have you even _read_ an issue of _The Gossip Stone_?" His voice was firm and low, but the room was so silent it echoed off the walls and it almost sounded like he was yelling still. "I don't need staff members who're using _The Stone _for icing on their college apps. And you wouldn't even be able to handle it in here anyway, so why not join some other org? We need members who actually _give _a damn about doing shit. Maybe it doesn't mean jack to you or the rest of the school, but everyone in this room actually cares. That kind of half-assed attitude of yours won't fly in here. Not with the writers, not with the editors. And _especially_ not with me."

Link walked over to the wall behind him, and Zelda's gaze—along with everyone else's in the room, followed him. He pointed to a wall of gold plaques and trophies resting on wall shelves. "See these? _The Stone_ wins national and worldwide competitions for quality, editing and design _every year_. And as the one in charge of this year's staff, I'm _not_ going to let that change anytime soon. So yeah, to answer your dumbass question. We take this—" he grabbed one of the archived issues off a desk and waved it at her forcefully, "this _school paper_ very seriously."

He walked back to Zelda, and his gait was so intimidating she took a step back until the violation of her personal space was unbelievably close and uncomfortable. The paper in his hand was rolled up like he was going to hit her with it, and she flinched in anticipation of a strike; but all he did was point it accusingly at her right in her face.

"You can walk out now if you think you can't handle it and save yourself the embarrassment." He narrowed his eyes at her. "But if you think you can make it in here, then good for you. And if you stick with it and by some wild stroke of luck you _do _become an editor next year, cool. But as long as we're both in this room, _I'm _your editor-in-chief, and _you're _my subordinate. Any and all final decisions on _anything_ go through me—and that includes any changes to staff positions."

With that, he angrily tossed the newspaper aside, its contents flying out of order in the air before settling into a mess on the floor by Zelda's feet. He fell back down in his chair, slipped his glasses back on, and casually went back to his word processing document, his voice back to its normal and deep tone. "And half-assing everything straight down to your fucking handwriting on the application was such a _bullshit_ way to start."

Zelda stared emptily back at him as he clicked away on whatever he was working on. Tears welled up in her eyes; she could feel them about to fall, but she quickly blinked them away; luckily for her, her light blonde hair was long enough that it obscured view of her face from the rest of the room. She lowered her head for a second; no way was she going to let an entire room of strangers, much less this Link guy, see her cry.

"Let me tell you…" She started slowly with a quiet voice. "I apologize for what impressed you as a half-hearted attitude." She shot her head up. "But I _won't_ let you talk to me like that!"

He glanced at her from the corner of her eye. It sounded like such an incredibly weak defense against his tirade; even she acknowledged that. But she had to say something. _Anything._

"I'm staying here at _The Stone_. And I don't care whether you're older than me or you're editor-in-chief, or anything like that!" She slammed her hand against his desk and leaned forward, invading his personal space almost as much as he did earlier. "I'll show you I have what it takes to become an editor!"

His eyes were wide for a second; he didn't expect her to make such a comeback like that—never mind that it sounded weak as hell to him. He thought that she'd start crying right there and walk out, never to come back, just like all the others. But he could hear the conviction in her voice.

And that conviction was enough.

Link sneered mockingly at her. "You think you can be an editor?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I _know _I can take your job."

He leaned forward even closer. It kind of made her nervous for a second; their faces were close enough that not even an inch together and they'd end up kissing. But she didn't back down; that's exactly what he wanted her to do. And she wouldn't dare give him the satisfaction of doing what he wants her to do.

"…Do you really now?"

"Count on it."

He just chuckled in response after a long pause. Withdrawing slowly, he raised a brow and pointed the pen he held in the hand he used to prop his chin up over to the staff writers. He lowered his voice, soft but filled with authority, to such a volume that only she could hear.

"Then get to work."

Zelda slowly stood back up straight, her eyes not once disconnecting with his, before adjusting the shoulder straps of her tote bag and walking over to the other staff writers. Slowly they started their meeting again as she silently pulled a chair over and sat down with the rest of them, taking out a pencil and notepad, and the room's atmosphere returned back to normal.

And every so often, Link would look up from his computer monitor and surreptitiously watch Zelda from across the room as she diligently listened and took notes.

* * *

I really hope you enjoyed so far. Unlike the oneshots I've been publishing so infrequently over the past four years (wow, it's been so long), this one's going to be going on for a little while. AND IT WILL BE FINISHED. But in between updates, feel more than welcome to contact me through my profile, if only to make sure I'm still alive and pester me with when new chapters will be coming out. Please let me know what you think so far; feedback is greatly appreciated.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	2. Issue II

And this would be chapter two. Thank you very much for all the feedback so far! I'll continue to work and become a better writer so I can hopefully hold your attention.

* * *

"Ahaha, so you still go to this school?"

Zelda scoffed with the fakest laugh she could manage, setting her bag on the table and plopping down onto her seat, careful not to spill any of her still steaming cup of instant noodles. "_Haha_, so funny."

Zelda's best friend, Malon Ranche, just giggled in reply, moving her own book bag and her empty tupperware that she kept her lunch in on the table to make room for her. She pulled her long, fire red hair back with both hands to tie it into a heavy ponytail. "But f'real, I haven't seen you in a while. The Stoners are no joke, huh?"

"Tell me about it," the blonde rolled her eyes yet smiling slightly at her friend's joke. Many students called _The Gossip Stone_'s staff "The Stoners" out of making fun.

After dropping by _The Stone_'s office last Monday and officially becoming a staff member—and that terribly embarrassing incident with Link, Zelda had successfully made it through her first two weeks as a writer now that it was Friday. But to be honest, it had tired her out more than she imagined it ever would. Link really wasn't lying when he said they stayed after school until at least after four. How late did they have to stay when it came time to crunch for deadlines and send everything to be published? The workload wasn't something she expected, either; having to sit through the executive writers lecturing and how they actually had _homework_ and assignments to do—it was like taking a seventh class on top of what she officially had!

But still, it wasn't all bad. After a week, she had finally made a few friends among the writers. One of them was—

"Zelda, hey!"

The two girls looked over Zelda's shoulder to see Karane wave to her as she walked past them.

"Hi, Karane," Zelda nodded back. After being the one to first talk to her when she stepped into the office, she and Karane quickly became acquainted with each other, talking in between lecture breaks and as everyone prepared to go home for the day. "Where are you headed?"

"I just got done with an interview for _The Stone_," she replied, turning fully to face her. "Have to do a story on ASB's plans for this year. I have to find a way to make them sound _not_ so self-serving, haha, but I'll find a way."

"Good luck with that," Zelda chuckled. The Associated Student Body government had a reputation for being unbelievably incompetent. They were less interested in trying to function properly and create proper school events and more with trying to help get their friends elected for office and waste away their time in the ASB office laughing and eating the food that should have been on sale at the student store. It was also no secret—at least among the student body, anyway, that they also abused their ASB passes with security so they could leave campus during school hours to eat out.

"Oh, sorry," Zelda turned back to Malon. "Karane, this is my best friend Malon. Malon, this is my friend Karane from _The Stone._"

"Nice to meet you," Karane smiled earnestly, shaking Malon's hand.

"Same!" Malon nodded, her own smile shining brightly as it always did. "Would you like to sit down?"

Karane's brow raised, her eyes shooting back and forth between the two girls. "I-is that okay?"

"Of course!" Malon laughed, gesturing to the chair next to Zelda. Zelda smiled, scooting over some and moving her belongings to make room for Karane. It was always like Malon to be so nice like that. She was honestly the better people person between her and Zelda.

"Thank you," Karane smiled, setting her book bag on the floor next to her chair's legs. "So you're both juniors?"

"Yeah," Malon nodded. She looked at her curiously, but not in a suspicious way. She had just noticed this was the first time she had ever seen her. "How about you? I don't think we've had a class together before."

"Oh no," Karane shook her head, taking her wrapped sandwich out of her bag. "I'm a fourth year, haha. And I usually spend my lunches in the office at _The Stone_, so maybe that's why we haven't seen each other before."

Karane was one of the many executive writers at _The Gossip Stone_, and had been writing for it since her sophomore year. She didn't apply for editorships for either her third or fourth years since she was busy enough as captain of the school's girl's tennis team. Either way, she liked being an executive writer; it gave her an opportunity to work with the newer and more inexperienced writers more, like Zelda.

"So what is it like working for the paper?" Malon asked honestly as she leaned forward with her eyes wide with curiosity, like Karane had just grown a dodongo's head.

Karane just laughed at her; it wasn't the first time someone had asked her that same question with that same expression. "It's a lot of fun. It can definitely be a lot of work, and it does get pretty intense sometimes."

"Like how?"

"Like when we're struggling to meet the deadlines, the editors especially get super tense real easily. There can be some screaming and crying involved." Karane glanced over to Zelda. "You tell her what happened on your first day?"

Zelda just shook her head as she took a sip from her water bottle. "I did… Don't remind me about it."

"Sorry," Karane shrugged sheepishly.

"What's his name again?" Malon furrowed her brow for a second. "The editor-in-chief guy?"

"Hey. Newbie."

The three girls looked to Zelda's and Karane's right and saw Link casually walking towards them. His uniform blazer was fully unbuttoned, and his tie was loosened some with the top buttons of his white dress shirt undone as usual. His black book bag was tucked under his left arm as his hand was stuffed in his pants pocket. For once, he wasn't wearing his glasses then.

The trio fell silent for a second, and Zelda's gaze hardened. It was the first time since that Monday that they had interacted at all with each other; Zelda had made it a conscious effort to not even look at him whenever they were in the office, instead directing all her attention at trying to learn everything the executives were teaching her as best as she could. He didn't even try to apologize for what happened and how badly he blew up at her. Not that she was really expecting him to.

Link nodded his chin in acknowledgment to Karane, who smiled quietly in reply, before he turned his attention back to Zelda. "Drop by the office after school."

Zelda's brow just remained knit in contempt. "Why? Yesterday you told us we didn't have to come in today."

"Changed my mind. After school."

She just rolled her eyes. "When will we be done?"

"When. We're. Done."

Goddesses, why was he such a tight ass?

And without another word, he walked away, not sparing Zelda another look. But just then he suddenly stopped himself and turned back to them. "Karane, you finish that ASB story?"

"Oh!" Karane shook her head quickly, snapping back to reality. "I just came back from the interview a few minutes ago. Sixth is my free period, so I'll come by the office to type it up and give it to you after school when you meet with Zelda."

"I have sixth period free too," he shrugged, "So I'll be there anyway."

"Okay!" She nodded. Link turned back to walk away, and she called after him. "I'll have the draft done by today!"

"Make sure you get one to Pipit too," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"See you in calculus!"

He simply waved the back of his right hand, not saying another word before slipping it back into his pocket and walking out of the cafeteria.

Karane slowly turned back to Zelda, who was twirling her fork in her instant noodles quietly, still visibly irritated. Trying to break the silence, she chuckled softly and patted her shoulder encouragingly. "Link isn't as bad as you think."

"I'll say," Malon leaned as far back as she could, trying to get a better view of Link from where he turned the corner out of the eating area. "_He's _the editor-in-chief? He's _cute!_" She turned back to Karane, leaning forward like she had the biggest piece of gossip ever. "He's a senior, right?"

"Malon!" Zelda snapped.

"But he is!" The redhead gasped. "Shoot, you made him sound like he was some sweaty big kid with glasses or something!" She looked to Karane eagerly. "Is he single?"

"Are you _kidding _me!"

"You don't think he's cute?"

"_No!_" Zelda rolled her eyes, leaned forward and rested her temple against her knuckle, glaring at Malon.

"He's single," Karane laughed at the two. They were definitely a pair. "But I don't think there's much you could do to convince him to go out with you."

Malon raised an eyebrow. "Is he gay?"

Zelda's shoulders and jaw dropped in defeat, her head tilting to the side and giving her the most incredulous face. Malon was one of the smartest girls in their graduating class; apparently those As didn't mean anything more than just letters on paper.

"_No_," Karane shook her head, smirking at her smartly. "I mean, he's dated girls before. But I've known him since middle school… He never seemed to take his relationships that seriously."

The blonde glanced at the red-orange haired girl for a second, watching her run her fingers through one of her ponytails.

"But he is a really hard worker," Karane added. "And if you just stick to things, he's more than welcome to help out… I guess he can just be a bit too cool and it leaves a bad impression."

Zelda sighed softly and continued eating her noodles, noticing that there were five minutes of lunch left before the bell rang. 'A bit too cool' and 'bad impression' couldn't be bigger understatements, Karane.

* * *

One of the double doors to the office was open. Zelda heard two voices talking inside, then remembered that Link and Karane were in there together working on her story draft.

"…Other than that," she heard Link draw out as she walked in quietly, waiting at the entrance for them to finish. Link was at his desk reclining in his chair with his feet propped up on the tabletop, Karane's paper in hand. She stood next to him, hands loosely clasped behind her back. "Sounds good as usual."

"Thanks, Link!" She smiled, taking the article back from him. "I'll make these corrections and have it ready by Monday."

"Thank you," he nodded back, taking his glasses off and holding them in his hand.

"See ya next week!" Karane nodded, grabbing her book bag and adjusting her pleated uniform skirt. Link waved slightly, eyebrows cocking up once as he did so. As Karane turned for the exit, she flashed Zelda a quick smile which she returned.

"See ya Monday," Karane whispered to her as she walked past her and out the exit, closing the open door behind her. Before Zelda could realize it or stop her, she turned to the closed door, making an echoing slam as it did. _Why_ did Karane have to close the door! Now the two of them alone was even _more_ awkward! But she couldn't just open the door again; she was sure Link was going to find some way to make fun of her for it.

Zelda slowly turned back to Link. He had been watching her non-stop ever since Karane turned to leave.

"…Well I can't talk to you when you're all the way across from me like that," he finally said. His voice sounded louder than usual, even though he was speaking at a normal volume; the large room's emptiness amplified things more than she liked. He removed his feet from his desktop and gestured for the seat at the editor's table perpendicular to his left. Zelda simply rolled her eyes and, adjusting the straps of her book bag on her right shoulder, walked over and took a seat.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked, trying to mask her irritation at just the thought of sitting across from him.

"Here." Link pulled a thick stack of packets from under his desk. He got up from his chair and unceremoniously dropped it in front of her, making a loud slam and shaking the pencil bins on the desk.

Zelda stared dumbly at what he put before her. They appeared to be graded article drafts, all marked up in red pen with circles, crosses and arrows drawn all over. And that was just the top page of them all.

"…What is this?"

"Story drafts from previous years," Link replied nonchalantly, sitting back down and looking at her, putting his glasses back on. "Show me what you learned so far, newbie."

She just blinked, completely confused.

"We're gonna go through all of them, and you're gonna tell me why the corrections on each draft were made."

Zelda's eyes widened. She could already feel her blood boiling, her face getting hot as she drilled daggers into his forehead.

"We're gonna go through _all_ of them?"

"Or however many we can get through until the groundskeepers come by and kick us out," he shrugged, not caring about just how angry she was getting and how deathly a glare she was shooting him. "Whichever happens first."

"I _refuse!_"

"_Hey!_" Link barked back, brow knitting tightly in frustration. "I didn't come here and give up my Friday afternoon to do this with you only for you to pussy out!"

"Who said I even _asked _you to!" She shot up, leaning forward with both hands against the desk.

Link stood up, almost knocking his chair backward in the process, and imitated the same action. "Who said she had what it takes to do my job!"

Zelda flinched slightly at that, her purple eyes still wide. Link stared her down, his eyes half-lidded threateningly.

"What happened to showing me up?" He asked in his deep voice, no longer yelling. Much more calm but still held that same accusing, condescending tone. "Or was that just more talk?"

She _really_ didn't understand him. Why was he picking on her so much? Was he like that with _all_ the new members? Who would go through all that trouble just to make a girl's life harder like he was doing to her? Was that some kind of turn on for him, yelling at underclassmen and embarrassing them in front of the entire staff?

"Don't open your mouth if you can't back your shit up," he sneered, light blue eyes icily drilling back into her gaze.

Right when things started getting better around _The Stone_, Link had to find some way to royally screw it up. Zelda had no more than three different run-ins with him in less than two weeks, and she had already had enough. There was no way she was going to be able to deal with the rest of the school year with him barking down her neck, sparing no opportunity to insult her. She was so close to opening her mouth to scream. She was so close to just yelling "I QUIT!" and storming out, slamming both doors behind her so hard it'd threaten to topple the entire north building down.

…But that's exactly what he was expecting her to do, right? Cry like a little kid and run off? No way. She'd never let him see her like that. No way in the Sacred Realm was she letting him have the pleasure of breaking her down completely. She wasn't going to give up without trying. If she could honestly say she tried and Link still hated her, then that was on her. She'd have no problem quitting if that were the case. But to just throw in the towel over a few mean words…

Zelda stared down at the stack of articles in front of her, and as she slowly lowered herself back into her seat, picked up the top two pages stapled together and pushed the rest aside to make room.

She picked up a mechanical pencil from the pencil bin next to the computer monitor and clicked it a few times until a stick of graphite poked out, looking up at Link through hard eyes and gritted teeth.

"…So? Teach me."

Link stared her down for a few more seconds from where he was standing, then let himself rest by taking his seat again, grabbing his pen and uncapping it.

…_She could never forgive herself._

* * *

About an hour and a half had passed since they started working on the first article, and they had managed to get maybe a third of all the papers done. Zelda had to admit that Link's teaching really was working; he was explaining things better than any of the executives did during their lectures, and they were already detailed enough. She had learned more in the past hour and a half she spent with Link than she probably had in the last two weeks since she started at _The Stone_.

…Karane was right, she supposed. If you just put in the time and listened, Link was…

…He was _okay_.

Link had gone off outside to get a drink from the vending machine, leaving her alone to edit an article on her own for once.

"_Think you can handle it without me holding your hand, newbie?" Link asked skeptically._

"_Yeah, yeah," Zelda waved him off, rolling her eyes. "Go get your soda."_

"…_Tch." He grunted before getting up from his desk and walking out of the room._

He was just being his typical jackass self… but when he said that about holding her hand… She couldn't help but wonder what his hands felt like... Hylia, what a stupid thought. Probably all rough from handling so much newsprint. And right then, before he left… It kind of sounded like a chuckle. Now that she thought of it, that was the first time she had ever heard him make any sort of sound resembling a laugh. It _almost_ made him sound attract—

The door opened behind Zelda, interrupting her train of thought. She looked behind her for a second and saw him carrying two bottles of Blue Potion.

"Hope you like grape," Link said, handing her the soda bottle by its bottom. She saw the bottleneck from her peripheral vision and turned to face him for a second. He was taking a swig out of his own soda, motioning the other in his offering hand for her to take it.

"…Thanks," Zelda murmured, averting her gaze and taking the soda with a grateful nod. She heard Link exhale deeply after finishing his gulp of the drink, and all of a sudden she could smell a waft of tobacco.

"…You smoke?" She asked without facing him again, unscrewing the bottle cap from its seal and taking a few drinks after waiting for the fizz to settle down.

"Did you want one?"

She quickly lifted her lips off the drink. "_No._"

Zelda quickly reached into her bag and shoved a stick of peppermint chewing gum at him, not turning away from the article in front of her. "It's none of my business if you wanna kill your lungs, but please don't do it around me."

Link just looked at her as she continued making corrections, still standing behind her chair. He eyed the piece of gum in her hand and silently took it, unwrapping it and slipping it into his mouth.

"It's unattractive," she added with annoyance.

"…Would you think I'm attractive if I quit?"

The hand she was writing with froze as she was in the middle of drawing a circle around comma spliced sentences. _What_ did he just ask?

…What kind of question was that?

"…O-of course not!" She scoffed, continuing writing and making more corrections. She couldn't tell, but Link definitely could; she was writing more quickly, more nervously. "_Me_ attracted to _you?_ Like _hell!_"

Link just crossed his arms over his broad chest, scratching his underarm for a second. "…Mm. I see."

Zelda stopped again at his quiet comment. What was with him, all of a sudden? After all the things he said to her, and he had the balls to ask her such a dumbass question like that? _Please!_

…But then… why did it bother her so much?

"…I'm done with this paper." Zelda handed it to him quietly, still not turning to face him.

"Finally." He took it, almost swiping it from her hand quickly enough that he could have given her a paper cut.

_This bastard…_

He looked over the article, rereading it quickly and taking note of all her corrections. Her handwriting was a lot neater when she wasn't writing so piss-poorly. She circled all the things he had expected to be circled, crossed out all the superfluous sentences and run-ons he expected to be crossed out. Good thing he scribbled out the header before he gave it to her to correct.

It was _his_ article draft from his freshman year, after all.

"It was a movie review, but it was written like a normal news article," Zelda started, taking another drink of her soda. "It was a bit too formal. They could have stood to use more lively language, more adjectives and descriptors and things like that. Entertainment articles are supposed to grab you and convince you to watch the movie or stay away from it. That person's grammar and spelling was good for the most part, but it didn't convince me to do anything. It was just too boring."

Link nodded softly. "You've been paying attention."

_Of course_ she was. He forced her to abandon her plans for all this; no way was she just going to waste her time letting everything go through one ear and out the other. If she was being forced, she might as well have maximized the time she had to sacrifice.

Link reached down and gently ruffled the hair on the top of her head. "…Good."

The contact made Zelda's back straighten, almost arching more than necessary. Immediately, she swatted his hand away, glaring at him. "Don't touch me like that."

His eyes were emotionless as they made contact with hers and he withdrew his hand, unfazed by her sudden reaction. Right then she looked away, turning back to her desk. If she had done so any later, he would have seen her blush.

_His hand was warm…_

"…Hey, you missed these." Link put the article back down in front of her and pointed at the places where the movie title appeared throughout. "Remember what I told you?"

Zelda looked at the page and where he was pointing. And before she knew it, she could feel his hot breath tickle against her right cheek and down her neck and collarbone.

"Always italicize movie, magazine and book titles," he whispered in a low voice.

Her back arched for the second time in less than five minutes. Link was hunched over, looking over her shoulder. Their faces were so close, almost an inch away from their cheeks touching. His unruly dark blond hair brushed against her ear, his breath almost absent of the earlier offensive tobacco and replaced with peppermint. She could see his jaw rise and fall from the corner of her eye as he quietly chewed his gum. Silently, he took Zelda's pencil from her hand and circled one of the titles, albeit a bit shakily since he was left handed and she had been writing with her right. Her hand twitched slightly as he did that, their hands just barely brushing against each other.

W… What was he doing so close? This was a violation of personal space! Get away, you're too close! J-just push him away! So what if he ended up yelling and throwing out more insults again; superior or not, that was no excuse for that kind of sexual harassment!

Just then the door opened deafeningly, and Zelda whirled around to her left to see that it was a janitor pushing a rolling trash can.

"Still here?" He asked in his gruff voice. He reached for one of the small black trash cans by the door and emptied its contents into the one he had been pushing. "Don't you _Stone_ writers got social lives? It's Friday! Go on, scram. Time to go to the mall or somethin'."

Right then did Zelda snap out of her stupor, stupidly scrambling out of her seat and picking up her book bag. "R-r-right! Sorry about that! W-we were just finishing up here!"

She grabbed the Blue Potion bottle and stuffed it into her bag. She frantically fixed her hair by running her fingers through her golden locks and brushed off the eraser shavings on her skirt. Link just silently stood back up straight, watching her with his just as usually expressionless gaze.

"…T-thanks for helping me out," Zelda managed to force out, unable to even look at Link's face, much less straight in the eye. "I-I'll remember what you taught me from now on."

With that she bowed—more like a weak nod of the head, eyes glued to the floor, then power walked out of the classroom, brushing her way past the janitor, leaving both him and Link to watch a completely flustered and frantic Zelda scurry out of the office in silence.

* * *

That seemed like a fine place to end for now. Feedback and comments would be greatly appreciated, of course.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	3. Issue III

Chapter three~

* * *

Zelda rushed down the staircase, the sound of her rapid footsteps bouncing off the walls of the narrow shaft so loud it was almost deafening. Her breathing was heavy, labored with each step downwards she took. Whether it was from almost running out of the office, down the stairs and out of the building, or from what had just happened right before she left, she couldn't really tell. One way or the other, once she was a decent distance away from the north building and reached the middle of the large central quad, she finally slowed down to a halt, wiping away the light sheen of sweat that formed on her brow and finally giving herself the chance to catch her breath.

Why had she reacted the way she did just then back there? She tried force herself to come up with an excuse—anything to somehow justify how much of a mess she made herself out to be right in front of Link. Everything happened so fast, those last few minutes of her and Link being together. So fast, when she looked back on it, everything was such a huge blur, and it only happened not even five minutes ago.

It wasn't like that was the first time a boy had ever come so close to her. She had dated her fair share of guys in the past, even though none of her relationships had ever been too intimate or long-term or anything… Maybe it was just because of the fact it was so sudden and so out of left field that reacting the way she did was a normal response?

…That _could_ have been it, she supposed. It's not like she _liked _the guy or anything. Definitely not! She just didn't expect him to come so closely to her out of nowhere! Shaking her head free of such ridiculous thoughts, she adjusted her uniform's sweater vest she wore over her white blouse and continued walking forward, finally heading home.

It really was just that his sudden closeness was so completely unexpected, she kept telling herself. Anyone with a halfway decent sense of hearing could have told that by the way he talked to her with his choice of words and that sickeningly condescending tone he took with her, he really didn't like her for one reason or another. She wouldn't have been surprised that as far as his feelings towards her were concerned, she really was just some junior all hiked up on college anxiety and trying to scramble for as many club officer positions as possible before she had to apply to universities the next fall.

…Though she had to admit that giving off that impression on the first day they met really was mostly her fault. And as the editor-in-chief for what apparently was a much more respected high school newspaper if all the awards on display in the office were to be trusted, she couldn't entirely blame him for thinking so lowly of her. She must hadn't been taking the entire journalism thing nearly as seriously as the rest of the staff was, he must have thought. And that private tutoring meeting they had was his way of showing her just how seriously _they_ took it and how much she was supposed to herself if she wanted to continue writing for _The Stone_, maybe?

But if that were all the case… why didn't she just quit?

Zelda stopped in her tracks again, and before she knew it, she was at the subway station. Of course the work load was more than she initially bargained for, but it honestly wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She had made a few friends among the writers, and although she had little to no personal interaction between any of the page editors beyond business, they seemed to at least tolerate her much better than Link's been able to. Anything she could think of regarding why she _shouldn't_ continue working at _The Stone_… It all came down to somehow being related to Link.

…_The hell?_ When did she start letting one person's opinion about her affect anything she ever did in life!

A spark quickly ignited in her, and all of a sudden she just felt incredibly irritated. But mot necessarily at Link. More like irritated with herself for letting him get to her so much.

Who cared if Link disliked her—hated her guts, even? Why should it matter to her even _why_ he did! If she produced quality writing without fail and worked harder than the entire staff combined, what did personal feelings even matter? He wouldn't be able to say anything if she worked seriously, and if he was as so gung-ho about being "all for the paper!" like he made himself out to be, he wouldn't let his feelings interfere with business! In fact, she would never forgive him, much less _allow_ him if he tried!

You'll see, Link Avalon! "Don't open your mouth if you can't back your shit up," _my ass!_

* * *

The next week and a half at _The Stone_ had gone by rather uneventfully in terms of interaction between Zelda and Link. Luckily for her, Link had let her be for the most part; the most he would ever do would be just passing glances while he was off working at his computers and with the other editors, or a simple nod of the head whenever she greeted the staff as she walked in at the beginning of meetings or excused herself for the day to go home. And although she should have been happy about that—which she was; she hated anything complicated in her life, and "complicated" didn't begin to describe her relationship with Link as far as she was concerned; something about their lack of communication oddly bugged her.

The following Monday they came back from the weekend and that Friday afternoon together alone in the office, Link had acted like nothing ever happened. Not like something _had_ happened, really, but she had half-expected him to pull her aside at some point and either coerce her into another private tutoring session or ridicule her about what a _splendidly_ graceful exit she made when the janitor had shooed them off campus.

But as far as the first issue of the paper overall was going, the staff definitely gotten more anxious as the deadlines approached and passed. As the days progressed, she noticed they would be staying on campus later to finish work, and the editors were getting more impatient and chastising with their writers who weren't meeting their deadlines. Luckily for Zelda, she had turned in all her story drafts earlier than she said she'd have them in. Pipit, the editor in charge of the Features section—the section dedicated to campus event highlights and stories and interviews with students, faculty or organization who were doing something noteworthy, told her he was quite surprised with how efficiently she worked. He had said jokingly that it was just out of the excitement for the first issue that most staff writers had, and that over the rest of the school year she'd start slacking after finding out just how routine and exhausting working for _The Stone_ could be sometimes.

"I remember when I was first a staffer," Pipit laughed. "But you'll learn soon enough!"

Either way, the last few days Zelda would show up to meetings without not actually having work of her own to do. Her drafts were all completed, and the executives hadn't assigned exercises or warm ups lately to prioritize getting the first issue done on time. She'd kill time by helping out other writers by proofreading their drafts or doing homework for her classes until the editors decided to adjourn for the afternoon. She also found herself digging through boxes of archived issues from past years and reading them. It was just as Link had accused her of on the first day: Zelda had never actually read an issue of the paper since she first started attending East Castle Town Prep her freshman year, and she figured that if she would be dedicating the next nine months to it, she might as well acquaint herself with what exactly it was _The Stone_'s writers did and to see for herself just how high quality it was according to the the awards it had won.

"Everyone, _listen up!_"

The entire room fell deadly silent and turned to the source of the growling, booming voice. It was Link's, and he stood behind his desk, shoulders hunched, hands pressed against the tabletop, and glaring down the entire staff.

"The publishing company called," he spoke. His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear, and firm and angry enough to probably scare half of them. "They wanted to know where the print-outs for the issue's pages are, and I had to lie _again_ to cover all your asses!"

So _that's_ what he's been doing on the phone, Zelda thought. The last few days, Link had been getting phone calls and she noticed that as soon as the phone would ring, he would just grimace in a not-so subtle manner and answer with strained politeness. By the time the conversations would end, he was noticeably trying to keep his voice at a respectably calm level and would shake his head in some expression that "angry" didn't quite begin to explain.

"Do any of you know that the deadline for the final copies to be sent in was _three days_ ago?" He asked. No one said anything; everyone either continued staring blankly at him, or turned away or looked at the floor, hoping that if Link called one of them out, it wouldn't be them. "People from the publishers are coming this afternoon to pick up proofs that _we don't have!_"

Zelda winced more noticeably than she would have liked at the sharpness of his voice. Something about Link just made him so unapproachable, so intimidating. It was enough when he was just silent at his computer or reading a book; when he was furious, much less just slightly annoyed even, just crossing his path seemed like suicide.

He turned to Midna, the co-news editor with Link; in addition to being editor-in-chief, Link managed the front page as well as the editorial section, while Midna was in charge of the news pages inside the paper. "Midna, are your pages finished?"

"Nope," she shrugged. She gestured a hand to the staff writers. "Well, one is but the other is completely blank except for the flag. I sent my stories back to the writers for final editing with the execs, but I haven't gotten any back!" She turned to them and flashed a smirk that seemed to taunt in a sing-song tone, 'You're in trouble now!'

"Tch," Link scoffed. He looked over to Pipit, who sat at the computer to the right perpendicular to his desk. "Pipit, how many stories are you missing?"

"Just one more," the brunet replied, unfazed by Link's tirade. "Colin's feature on that violinist in the orchestra, Fado Green."

"_Colin!_"

Colin, a freshman staff writer sitting behind Zelda, shot up from his computer and faced Link with wide blue eyes. Colin's eyes were naturally rather big to begin with, but the fear at just the vocalization of his name by Link—especially in _that_ voice, made him look like he had just seen the most grotesque Poe imaginable.

"…Y-yes?" He swallowed.

"Where's _your_ story?" Link sneered as he swiped his glasses off his face, his long brown fringes brushing to the side as he did so.

"…I-I-I'm doing t-the initial editin—"

"The _initial_ edit!"

Zelda and the rest of the class just silently watched the two back and forth. It was like a wolfos backing a poor puppy dog into a corner before lunging back to make the fell pounce. Zelda felt like she should have said something, anything, for Colin's defense. But she had to admit that Link never before looked more terrifying than he did just then; even compared to their first meeting when he almost drove her to tears he didn't sound or look as threatening compared to how he was glaring Colin down from across the room.

"Pipit," Link glanced back to the freckled brunet before turning his attention back to Colin. "Did he ever give you the first draft?"

"…No," Pipit shook his head. But sensing the fear in the freshman standing in front of Zelda, he quickly tried to come up with something else to add to cushion the fall, even if it meant sticking himself between the boy and Link. "But I'm the one in charge of his story! A-and I should have kept a better eye on him, making sure he understood the proper format and all… So don't come down too hard on him, you know? …It's not really his entire fault or anything."

But Link just stayed quiet before leaving his desk and making his way towards Colin, and when the younger blond saw him head his way, he flinched hard, shaking visibly.

"Hey, Link," Pipit called after him in a tone that tried to calm him down, but he didn't listen. "Link!"

Zelda really couldn't believe him. She understood the amount of stress Link must have been under as their chief editor, on top of any other responsibilities and obligations he might have as a graduating student. And she couldn't blame him after he explained the situation: none of the pages were finished, some entire stories were missing or even unedited, and the publishers weren't giving out anymore deadline extensions. But honestly! What was he planning on doing to the poor kid? …He wasn't _really _going to hit him or anything, was he? It was just one story! And it wasn't like Colin was the only one guilty of being late; at that point, he might as well have kicked the entire staff's asses!

Colin's shoulders hiked up, his eyes scrunched tightly and looking downward, bracing himself for some sort of strike by the much taller Link. And indeed Link had his arm raised, and it looked like he really was going to hit him…

But after a terse pause, Link let his raised hand fall, exhaling in defeat and shaking his head.

"…Look," he started through gritted, muttering under his breath. "How much do you have left to do?"

Colin opened an eye tentatively before looking back up at Link. He could tell Link was forcing himself to calm down. His gaze was hard, difficult to read… but somehow, even the tiniest bit, seemed _somewhat_ apologetic.

"...J-j-just to give to Pipit to look over and see if anything needs changing and it's done…" He wiped his eyes with his forearm, sniffling quietly.

Link looked away when he noticed that Colin had almost started crying, shifting his weight on one leg and putting a hand on his hip as he did so. Zelda studied his expression hard for a bit; he almost looked… ashamed?

"…Hurry." Was all Link said to him before turning and walking away, headed for the doors.

"The rest of you—_get to work!_" He snapped, his tone back to the angry barking it initially was, and the staff almost jumped, quickly snapping back to their senses. "The publishers are coming over at six, and it's 3:15! No more fucking around!"

"Link!" Pipit called after him, but he got no response. "Where are you going!"

All he got in reply was the dark blond teen forcefully opening both doors, and slamming them both shut without looking back, the resulting boom once again immediately silencing the room.

After a small pause, Zelda walked over to Colin, who, obviously still shaken, was hurriedly typing words and clicking across the screen. She watched him for a second: his hand visibly trembled as he held onto the mouse, as did his lower lip as his jaw slightly hung slack. His breathing was heavy; she was worried he'd dehydrate himself at how hard he was hyperventilating.

"…Hey," she started. She leaned down, supporting herself by resting her hands on her knees. Colin nervously looked over to her, remaining silent as he did so.

"It's okay, yeah?" She smiled as warmly as she could manage. Poor kid; it was just the first issue, and he was a first year for Hylia's sake; Link _really _didn't have to act the way he did. "He's just stressed out is all... We all are."

"…Y-yeah," Colin nodded, scratching the back of his light blond bowl haircut. "I-I'm fine now."

She chuckled softly, patting him on his back. "Good."

"Okay, everyone!" Pipit announced, standing up. He walked over to the front of the editors' desks, leaning back on it and crossing his arms. "You all heard Link! The publishers will be here in less than three hours, and we all got hell of a lot of work to do! Who here still has to submit their stories to any of us? First time or not?"

A little under half of the staff writers raised their hands.

"Alrighty," Pipit nodded, scratching the back of his head. "Execs, help them out! That's what you're all here for, did you forget that? Zelda!"

She whirled around to face him, standing back up straight.

"You help out the execs with checking over their drafts," he told her. Zelda just nodded, smiling slightly. It seemed to her that Pipit seemed much more in control of himself than Link did under stress, and could motivate just as well _without_ the yelling and belittling.

"No need to print out extra copies; save some damn trees and just call an exec over to check it on the computer and edit it there!" Pipit turned around to the editors. "Guys, make sure when you print out your page drafts you give them to the execs and staffers to look over and edit."

He clapped his hands. "Move!"

* * *

"You _should_ have had these in when you first told us you'd be finished!"

Link stood before the suited, professional looking publishing employees, his head bowed forward deeply. His shaggy hair fell in front of his eyes, and from where Zelda was watching them stand at the doors, it was hard to tell just what kind of expression was on his face.

"I know, sir," he answered lowly. "I'm sorry."

"Not only did you inconvenience us with your continued excuses," the most prominent looking of the three men snapped. His dark blond hair was starting to gray, and his hard stare coupled with his facial wrinkles only made him look older than he must really have been. "But I can only imagine the kind of stress you put on your staff!"

Somehow, by some sort of miracle, they had managed to complete the page proofs on time. Karane told Zelda while they were editing drafts that the entire process normally took three or four days, maybe a week at most. They had managed to complete about half that amount of work in less than three hours. Karane had also told her that this was the first time since she started working for _The Stone_ that a deadline had been pushed back this badly. Being late a day or two a most was somewhat normal; they were only high school students working for an extra-curricular organization, after all. But according to what she had overheard from the other editors, the way Link had continuously pushed back the deadline and how the entire staff was forced to cram so much in such little time was something even they hadn't experienced before.

"Isn't the job of the editor-in-chief to make sure these kinds of things _don't_ happen!"

Zelda, who was sitting in the small lounge area close to the editors' section, could see Link flinch even from across the room. He simply bowed his even lower, until he was almost at a 90 degree angle. He shallowly nodded his head.

"…Yes it is, sir."

The suited man just sighed exasperatedly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This never would have happened when Raven was chief editor."

Her head poked up from how it had lazily hung off the sofa's armrest at that. Raven? Who was that?

"…I'm not him, sir," was all Link said in reply. It sounded incredibly forced, like the words would have made him gag.

"…No, I suppose not," the man from the publishers shrugged gently. He held up a rather large manila folder, in which were all the proofs for the pages they all had scrambled to complete. "…Either way, good work. Just don't let this kind of predicament happen again!"

With that, the middle-aged man, escorted by two other men in just as expensive looking business suits, took their leave silent, quietly closing the doors behind them. It was a few seconds before Link finally stood up straight, and even longer before he turned back—just before Zelda herself looked away so Link wouldn't know she was staring. He made his way back to his desk where he took his glasses off and put them in their hard case, snapping shut with a small echo.

Link and Zelda were the only two left in the office again; everyone had gone home a little before the publishers came by. This time, it didn't really seem to faze Zelda as much, and she wasn't all that nervous with being alone with him then anymore.

"If you were wondering," Link finally spoke, cutting through the silence with his smooth voice. He opened the lower door to the refrigerator to Zelda's left next to the sofa, where the staff kept their packed lunches through the day. "I apologized personally to Colin earlier."

Zelda smiled inwardly at that. Link? Apologizing? Was it genuine? Or one of those forced "I wanted to be the bigger person?" kind of things? She knew virtually nothing about the guy, but she could make a pretty good educated guess that Link apologizing for _anything_ was completely out of his character.

"That's nice," was all she said.

Link glanced at her from above the open fridge door, then leaned forward to grab something. He came back up and offered her a cold water bottle. She accepted it slowly, quietly thanking him as he grabbed one of his own. This all seemed oddly familiar…

He plopped down onto the sofa next to him with an exhausted breath, leaving quite a distance between her and himself as he took a few deep swigs of water.

"…Today was my fault." He finally said in a low voice. That caught her attention. It was one thing for him to apologize, but to actually admit something was _his_ fault? What was even happening?

"It was the first issue," he started. "So I thought I'd try and make it a little easier for everyone to take a little more time than normally with getting everything in… I dunno, Pipit said something about 'cutting people a break,' and it ended up blowing up into shit and trying to negotiate a later deadline after later deadline."

Zelda just stared at him quietly. For almost a month he was almost mute aside from the occasional one or two word responses and the cold reprimand here and there, and all of a sudden he said more in one breath than he did since she met him.

"Last time I take advice from him," he scoffed.

"…Well, I'm not really trying to tell you how to do your job," Zelda started slowly, looking down a bit. "And it's not like I'm trying to say that I could do it any better."

Link glanced at her in the middle of a swallow of water, lowering his chin and lifting his lips off the bottle mouth.

"…I guess, maybe, just find a balance between an iron fist and cutting breaks?" She shrugged, not really knowing where she was going with her train of thought and that she was better off derailing it before sounding like even more of a dumbass to him. "I-I don't know what I'm saying…"

Link blinked a few times before chuckling in a low, rumbling voice. "Newbie thinks she knows more than me?" He faced forward and continued drinking.

"Cute."

Zelda's face turned beet red at that and she squeezed her water bottle so tightly between her hands the plastic started crumpling. What kind of response was that! After trying to pull him out of his self-pity, _that's_ all he had to say!

"Sorry for trying to cheer you up!" She huffled, crossing her legs and turning away from him in contempt. She pressed her finger against one of the small circular fridge magnets and mindlessly trailed it along the magnetic surface. "How about I say it in terms you can actually understand: _we_, your lowly staff writers, were at fault because we weren't disciplined enough to follow your deadlines! It had _nothing_ to do with you being incompetent or unbalanced or anything like that, master editor-in-chief! So quit the pity fishing!"

Her left cheek was pushed against the palm of her hand as she rested her elbow against the armrest when she heard him speak again.

"But you had all your work in first before anyone else, didn't you?"

The finger she had pressed against the magnet stopped slowly before she slightly turned to face him. He was mirroring the position she was in, resting his face on his knuckles as he had his elbow propped against the right armrest.

"…So what?" She muttered as she averted her gaze again, biting the inside of her cheek.

Link just eyed his capped water bottle nonchalantly, gently swishing the remaining water inside. "…Nothing."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow at him. He was so incredibly hard to read, it was frustrating her more than she should have been letting it. Just what was he trying to say? Was he complimenting her? Chiding her?

"But," he shrugged. "Pipit did tell me that you helped edit the other staffers' drafts. Said you were a real help."

He put his water bottle aside and, with his free hand, softly knocked his knuckle against her right temple.

"Good job today."

Zelda didn't say anything. She just looked down at the floor, eyes darting across the surface. Link was confusing her more than ever. What was he saying? Was he complimenting her? Was he mocking her? He was so snappy and sarcastic it was difficult to tell when he was being serious and facetious. And even if it was just his knuckles, the feeling of his hand brushing against her skin…

…It felt warm.

"…I'm going home," she mumbled under her breath and brushed his hand away. Once she got up though, he reflexively caught her wrist in his grasp. She whirled around to glare at him bewilderedly, her brow knit.

"W-what?" She snapped. "Let me go!"

"How do you feel about me?" He asked, his deep voice not threateningly accusing or taunting. It was calm. Soft. And just like his voice, his eyes shone with a tinge of curiosity she wasn't expecting.

She failed to fight back a blush at that, struggling to release her arm from his grip to no avail. She noticed, under his rolled up sleeve, was a large bandage on his forearm. When did that happen? How did he get hurt?

"W-what kind of question is that!" She stammered as she returned to her thoughts. Let go! Your grip's too tight!

"One that you're going to answer."

Boy, did Link know _perfectly_ how, right when he seemed to be a somewhat decent person, to suddenly turn into an arrogant, belittling bastard.

"Y-you're my superior," Zelda finally forced out, calming down some. "I'm your subordinate."

"I didn't ask you to state the freakin' obvious," he retorted bluntly.

Her face flushed with utmost annoyance. Good _goddesses_.

"What's with you! You're not making sense!" She spat out, his completely serious gaze unnerving her. "There's nothing to feel about anything! Where do you get off, asking me how I feel about you like that! You sound like a middle school kid, trying to make it sound like you _like_ me or something!"

She laughed mockingly, though she was doing a terrible job at trying to make it sound convincing. He just cocked an eyebrow, his face just as serious and annoyingly difficult to discern as ever.

"And what if I said I do?"

* * *

I think I actually revealed more than I originally intended to with this chapter in terms of plot. I actually had more planned in my original draft for this chapter, but I cut quite a few parts out at the last second to save for future updates because I can't go letting everyone know what I have in store all within the first three chapters! Sorry to do that for you all, but I hope you find it worthwhile in the end!

Now that FFN has that nifty "reply to review" option that wasn't there when I was much more active and prolific some four and five years ago, I'm trying to make an effort to talk to you all individually as best as I can, since your feedback really does mean so much to me as a wannabe writer. Don't hesitate to drop a personal line outside of what you think; I'll try my best to get back to all of you individually. That said, constructive feedback especially is more than welcome and highly valued!

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	4. Issue IV

So sorry to have left you all hanging like that at the end of the last chapter! But here we go. :]

* * *

Zelda was at a loss for words. What did he just say? What kind of sick joke was this!

"…What?" If she knit her brow any tighter, the fine hairs of her eyebrow would surely be touching. Link just shrugged, cocking a brow as he did so, as if the question was the most normal thing he could have possibly asked.

"Trouble hearing?" He stood up and with a yank on her wrist that was borderline painful, pulled her even more closely to his chest. "What if I got a little closer?"

"Ow!" She yelped. His firm hold on her wrist wasn't helping; that jerk towards him only made their positions much more compromising. Her front side bumped into his and she staggered backwards for a second from the impact, but his hold on her was what kept her from falling completely backwards.

Link was about a full head taller than Zelda. Their torsos were almost touching. Link's hair fell in front of his face as he stared her down, and his eyes couldn't be more nonchalant; Zelda's, however, were a mess. Inside her swirled confusion, annoyance, embarrassment, and something that was almost but not quite anger. But with none of them being positive, they all naturally mixed together into super glue that held her firmly in place, her brain unable to even force her body to react to somehow push him away from her.

He was kidding, right? He was _so _kidding! There was no way he could possibly ever like her—and we weren't even talking about in a tolerable kind of way! It had almost been a month, and he had never even referred to her face by her own name! To Link, she was always either just "Newbie," or "Harkinian," or some kind of insult that she'd learned to grow a thick skin to. Hell, they knew _nothing_ about each other! And didn't liking someone beyond some distant crush require some sort of personal familiarity? What was this! Some girly high school comic or badly written fan fiction she shamefully had read way too many of?

"Can you hear me now?" Link whispered in that deep, rumbling voice of his. "What if I said I like you? What would you do then?"

The sound of his voice snapped her out of her stupor, and she looked away bitterly. "T-the hell! Don't make jokes like that!"

But Link swiftly took hold of her other wrist to divert her attention back to him so that their gazes were spot on the other's pupils. "Answer the question. That's an order from your superior. You wouldn't let that interfere with _The Stone_… would you?"

"…You tell me." She squeaked out. She still faced him, but her eyes wandered off elsewhere, anywhere but to meet his. "Y… You're the one going on about all this crap…"

"I-if you really like me or whatever," she shrugged. Her eyes darted back to him and drilled holes into his forehead. "…Then at least keep it out of business! Romance and work don't mix!"

"…Good." With that, he unceremoniously released her wrists and walked back to his desk without another word.

Zelda watched him silently, completely dumbfounded by his reaction. What… had just happened? What was the point of all that? He went on and on about what would happen if he liked her, then suddenly dropped the topic like they had just discussed what color his shirt was…?

What was his fucking _deal!_

"What do you mean, 'good!'" She snapped at him. Link didn't say anything in reply; he just continued packing his things, sorting papers out and filing them away into different folders.

"What?" He shrugged, not even bothering to look back at her. "That too tough a word for you to understand?"

Her fists balled up. She stomped right up to him and shoved him as hard she could with one hand right on his right shoulder. Link, however, barely staggered back one step due to being taller and heavier than she could push over.

"Don't screw around with me!" She spat at him. She had finally had enough of his nonsense and mind jokes. "What are you even thinking, 'What if I liked you!' Do you have something to say to me! If so, just freakin' _say_ it!"

Link's eyes, while not really wide, were much more open than they usually were. Her outburst wasn't something he expected, even for someone who was normally as calculating as he was. Zelda's face was starting to flush a bright red, a tint that contrasted rather heavily with her flaxen blonde hair and white uniform blouse.

But as usual, he just turned back to his putting his belongings away. "It was as you said. Romance has no place in business. I was just wondering what you'd say if something like that were to happen. Seems like you at least understand that much."

Zelda tilted her head in confusion, jaw slack open. _That's_ all he had to say? It wasn't so fucking hard; why couldn't he just quit toying with her for once and say that!

"I never said I liked you." He stuffed his glasses case into his bag. "I said _what if_. Quit taking things so seriously and getting worked up over nothing."

'Quit taking things so seriously?' Was he freakin' kidding! Link Avalon was _the last_ person in Hyrule to be talking about taking anything seriously!

"But you know," he shouldered his book bag and looked over to her. "The same goes for you."

Her eyes widened at that.

"…What?"

Link just walked away, making for the door. Zelda called after him, stomping her foot. "Hey! Link!"

"I'm not saying you _can't_ fall in love with me," he called back. He grabbed the handle to one of the double doors and looked back to her over her shoulder. "But if you do, don't let that affect your productivity."

With that, Link turned back and opened the door. What was he saying? Of course she knew that! Separation between work and love in any kind of environment was almost an unspoken law of nature. Nothing good ever came out of mixing them… But really? If she ever fell in love with him! Like _that_ would ever happen!

"No way in _hell_ would I ever fall in love with you!" Zelda yelled at him.

Link stopped mid-step out the door at her outburst, back still turned to her. He looked over his shoulder, eyes connecting with hers.

"Is that a promise?"

She froze up, her cheeks flushing deeply. What was up with all these questions that made no sense?

He stared at her for a few more seconds before giving just the faintest smile. "…You sure are cute when your face turns red like that."

All of a sudden, Zelda's face suddenly felt like it was burning. She tried to stop him before he let go of the handle. "Wait!"

Before the door closed though, he managed to get out the last word.

"Good work today, Newbie."

* * *

Zelda picked at the last few bites of her food aimlessly, spinning pieces of beef and vegetables around on her plate. Her parents were talking about things that had gone on at work during the day, griping and laughing at whatever it was that they were talking about; Zelda felt less than compelled to care about any of it.

Her parents, like many of those who sent their children to East Castle Town Prep, were one of Castle Town's many comfortably affluent. The children of politicians, bureaucrats, record and film producers, company owners, surgeons, lawyers—they were all sent to any one of the Castle Town Preparatory School's four campuses situated around the greater Castle Metropolitan Area.

"Are you okay, Zelda?" Her mother asked her. Zelda looked up at her. Zelda resembled her mother more closely than her father; they had the same light blonde hair and amethyst eyes. Her mother, with her few wrinkles, had aged quite well. She was an anesthesiologist at the medical center for the University of Hyrule, the country's most premier institution of higher learning and research. To Zelda, it was a miracle that her mother had even found the time to get off work and actually prepare dinner for the family for once; she was almost always working late hours in the trauma center, and seeing her home and unwinding at the dinner table was honestly such a rarity.

"Oh…" Zelda chuckled softly, trying to lighten the silence that had come over her and her parents. "Yeah! I'm fine."

Her father eyed her for a second with his dark blue orbs. His shortly cropped brown hair was starting to gray slightly. Her father, on the other hand, was an officer in the Hylian Royal Navy. He had just returned from one of his overseas tours in the Great Sea, where he spent most of his time stationed at the Hylian Navy base on Koholint Island.

"Well… How was school?" He asked, taking a bite of rice, trying to strike up another conversation.

"It was fine," she shrugged. "We finished the first issue of the school paper. We were kind of late, but we got it done."

"That's good to hear," her mother smiled as she cut through a piece of meat with her knife. "Are you doing well with them? Are you going to be an editor next year?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow at her, smiling back softly. "Mom, the school year just started and it's my first year working there. It's a bit too early to be applying for editor positions."

"Of course not," her father quipped after swallowing his mouthful of water. "If you want to get into UH next year, it isn't!"

Zelda looked down at her almost finished plate of food at his comment, hiding her face from her father's view with her hair. She hated when the conversation turned into something about her applying for college. Both her parents, as University of Hyrule alumni, wanted her to attend UH. Of course she wanted to as well—_everyone_ dreamed of getting into UH; it was only the hardest university in all of Hyrule to get into. But it seemed like they actually wanted it for her more than she did.

Not only that, but the topic of what she wanted to major in also became one of hot contention, and when the subject switched to college, talking about her choice of major was almost an inevitability. They wanted her to do something with money in it, like something in medicine or science. She personally wanted to pursue English or comparative literature or something like that in the humanities or social sciences. Something that actually interested her. As far as Zelda was concerned, the issue of finding a major that would lead to a high-paying job was barely worth mentioning considering her family's financial situation; they might as well have had money flowing out of the faucets.

Not that it was something she liked to brag about. The money was nice, but her parents' relative wealth and their family's upper middle class status interfered with her living like a normal teenager more than she would have liked them to. Especially when they were usually too busy with their jobs to actually tend to the one they signed up for when they decided to have a child.

Not wanting to get into yet another argument about her future, she quickly finished the last few bites of her food. "W-well, I suppose we'll see then! Thanks for the meal, Mom."

She took her plate to the sink, sloppily rinsing off the excess bits of rice and beef, and shuffled up the stairs before her parents could say anything else.

Really, it wasn't like Zelda didn't appreciate everything her parents gave her or how fortunate she was to have so much, especially when she knew there were so many people who had so little. It was just that everything about their lifestyle kind of… suffocated her. It wasn't like she had to keep herself dolled up and meet foreign ambassadors and speak only when spoken to like she was some sort of princess, but… It was difficult to explain, she supposed. Maybe it was that she had grown up a bit too sheltered? That must have been it. She was hardly Daddy's Little Girl with an addiction to swiping credit cards whenever she came across a scanner—she had always made it a point of not to flippantly spend her parents' hard earned money like she knew so many of the girls at school did; but she had never even had a part-time job.

Not to say she was superficial, but Malon didn't seem to have any problems with it, or at least didn't take nearly as much issue with the privileges that came with having well-to-do parents the way Zelda did. Malon's father, lazy and almost narcoleptic as he was, owned dairy and beef ranches out in Hyrule's Great Plains. She remembered spending some spring breaks and summers out in the countryside with Malon and her family, and her rather spiteful uncle who, being her father's younger brother, would always go on muttering under his breath how he should have been the one to inherit the family business.

She sprawled herself out on her large mattress, clad in just a tank top and a pair of short shorts she usually wore around the house. Her lights were off; the only source of illumination came from her open window that offered more than spectacular views of Castle Town's vibrant skyline. She and her family lived in a two-story apartment in a residential high rise in East Castle Town. The view from her bedroom, she had to admit, was one of the nicer byproducts of being able to afford such a place.

Among the thoughts swimming around in her head, one that she just couldn't drown out was what happened with Link earlier that afternoon. Honestly, she didn't know why it bothered her so much… And funnily enough, the fact alone that it bothered her was the source of most of her frustration, even more than what he had actually said or done.

Honestly, what was he thinking? If they ever come to like each other and get in a relationship or whatever, then to not let it interfere with production of _The Stone_? Idiot! _Anyone_ should know that! But more than just not mix work with pleasure, but the simple notion that they could ever be together was, for some reason… irritating.

Zelda shook her head and turned on the television across from her bed, needing some sort of background noise to drain out what was such a painful silence. They might have been from similar upbringings given that they both went to Castle Town Prep, but they were completely worlds apart! She was just a third year, and he was graduating that coming spring. He was the editor-in-chief of a respected high school newspaper, and she was just one of their first-time staff writers. She could at least be polite when the situation called for it, and he… well, he was the complete opposite of that to say the least.

But beyond those simple differences, they really didn't know anything about each other. And for the most part, she preferred it stayed that way. They might have been just high school students, but work was work, and Link definitely treated _The Stone_ and his staff like they were an actual business; bosses didn't have any place in learning about their employees' personal lives, did they? Nor did she have the right to pry into his. Nothing good would come out of getting closer to Link beyond their already tenuous superior-subordinate relationship. Love at first sight might work in the movies or in her favorite fan fiction of her favorite movies, but hardly if ever did real life work out in such a perfect, happily ever after sort of way.

Then soon enough, she found herself wondering… Just what did Link's family do? Students who went to Castle Town Prep and weren't rich or anything like that were usually there on either academic or athletic scholarships; the tuition was just too high for a family of modest income to afford without driving themselves into debt. Link, for as well built as he appeared to be, didn't seem the kind to play sports—or anything that involved teamwork for that matter if his sour personality was of any indication, and there was no doubt that he did well in school. His last name was Avalon… What could that be associated with? Was his dad a politician? Was he the heir to some company? Wait, they weren't in the Imprisoning War anymore; were company leaderships even hereditary anymore?

…Why was she even thinking about him anyway! _He_ was the source of all her frustration to begin with! Think of something else! There's that new movie that came out today that Malon had been going on about at lunch. The one with those kids being forced to fight to the death by the government or something. Call Malon to watch it tomorrow! Something, anything—just don't think about Link!

But of course, the more she forced herself to not think about him, the more she ended up thinking. The human brain was so unnecessarily complicated… It was all so irritating. Zelda exhaled deeply, blowing out of her eyes the long tresses of hair that fell on her face. "Not funny" didn't begin to describe how Zelda felt about the way Link had been toying with and messing around with her ever since she started working for _The Stone_. She could always quit, but aside from anything to do with Link, she actually started enjoying working quite a bit. Her only solution, she finally supposed after a bit, was just minimizing the time she spent alone or even just interacting with him as much as possible. She wouldn't even allow herself to be alone with him. Her time at _The Stone_ from now on would just be strictly business.

That's how Link would want it anyway… right?

* * *

The following Monday after school, Zelda casually made her way across the quad towards the north building's entrance, grabbing her lanyard with her badge out of her bag and putting it on around her neck. The first issue was completed and probably finishing up making its final copies at the publishing office right then; they were probably going to discuss work on the second issue. Couldn't they just take one day off? _The Stone_ really lived up to its "all work, no play" reputation. As she got closer to the building, she noticed two men talking in front of the entrance… No, it looked like they were… arguing?

Must have been two teachers or something, she figured. But as she got even closer, she noticed one of them was Link. She noticed him glance at her from over the other man's shoulder, and she just looked away, speeding her pace towards the doors.

The other taller man stopped in the middle of his sentence after realizing that Link was paying less attention to him than he already was, and turned around to see what he was looking at. It was some blonde girl in the school's uniform, head turned down, awkwardly powerwalking.

Just ignore them, Zelda repeated in her head. Whatever it is, it's none of your busi—

"Hey, Newbie."

_Dammit._

Zelda stopped in her tracks at the sound of Link's voice. Come on, just ignore him, idiot! Whatever it was, it could wait until later! Go on, finish your conversation!

"…Yes?" Zelda forced out, looked back up at the two men. Link was staring at her emotionlessly, with his arms crossed over his broad chest. She glanced at the other man… and she was startled to find that he looked disturbingly just like Link. Same dark blond hair with wisps of brown, the same cobalt blue eyes, the same steely cold expression on his face… Well, he did look a little older, and he was maybe half a head taller, so they couldn't have been twins or anything. Besides, he wasn't in uniform; he was wearing a navy business suit that looked quite expensive and finely tailored in all the right places. Wow, the similarities… It was almost scary. What were they? Brothers? Cousins? He looked way too young to be his father.

"You're late," was all Link said. He nodded his head towards the building. "The staff meeting already started."

Zelda rolled her eyes for a second. "Sorry. I had to see one of my teachers after class."

The man studied her for a second. Her expression… he didn't really know how to describe it in a single emotion. It wasn't really nervous or mad or scared… More like, one of those "I really don't want to be here would you please be so kind as you leave me alone" faces. His eyes fell to the lanyard hanging off her neck when he noticed the _Gossip Stone_ badge in the plastic covering, and his eyes lit up a bit when he saw the girl's name on it.

_ZELDA HARKINIAN, 3__rd__ YEAR_

Immediately the man turned back to Link, glaring at him accusingly. Link noticed the almost incredulous look the taller man was giving him, and he listlessly shrugged him off, looking away. Zelda noticed their silent exchange of glances. It was almost amusing, actually. Whoever he was and whatever kind of relationship they had, they were obviously close enough to communicate effectively without even saying a word to each other.

Without another word, the tall suited man sighed and walked away, shooting Zelda one last glance over his shoulder. She furrowed her brow at him; for a second, what he was giving her almost looked like a dirty glare, like she had somehow done something to offend him.

Link and Zelda watched him walk away until he was far off enough into the distance, and then Link turned over to her. Zelda felt his gaze studying her, then with an awkward clearing of her throat, hurriedly walked into the building.

She heard him walk uncomfortably closely behind her, and she quickened her pace even more so that she was almost running. Get away! You're walking too close!

"Hey!" Link spoke, trying to keep up. "Slow down!"

"You just said the meeting already started!" Zelda brushed him off. "I don't want to be any later than I already am!"

Realizing he wasn't going to give up trying to catch up with her, Zelda noticed a fluorescent sign hanging from the ceiling that pointed down a hallway to her right, right before the entrance to the stairwell up ahead. It was a sign leading to the restrooms. She suddenly turned the corner sharply, throwing Link for a loop.

"Hey!" Link snapped from behind her. He skidded a bit due to how fast he was walking in an attempt to catch up to the blonde girl. "Where are you going!"

"I need to use the bathroom!" Come on, Zelda! Just a few more steps to the restroom! He wouldn't dare follow you in there!

"You just said you wanted to catch up with the meeting!" Link shot back. "And you didn't look like you had to use the bathroom earlier when you were taking your sweet ass time walking across the quad!"

She finally took hold of the handle to the women's restroom before she was actually in front of it, awkwardly swung it open and ran into the restroom, pushing the door shut behind her.

"I started my period!" She blurted out thoughtlessly. After repeating it in her head, it sounded like much more information than he probably would have cared to know, but that was beyond the point. Quit following! Go back to the office already!

Zelda learned back against the door, trying to catch her breath, listening for any sign of Link's presence to see if it was clear to leave. Outside, he just stared at the women's restroom sign on the door in irritation, her breath behind the door clearly audible. Realizing she wasn't going to come out anytime soon, Link just sighed and walked away, back to the office.

Inside the restroom, she heard Link's footsteps disappearing down the hall, ending with the echoing of the opening and slamming of the door leading to the stairwell. Letting out a deep breath of relief, she pushed herself off the door and turned to her reflection in the wide mirror in front of the sinks.

Why did she react that way just then? Zelda was so frustrated with herself… No, she was frustrated with Link! Why couldn't he just leave her alone! What made her so different from the other staff members that he continuously felt the need to jerk her around, making her feel so flustered all the time! There was absolutely no basis of which to build anything between them, so why did the mere idea of being alone with him bother her so much!

Zelda splashed cold water from the faucet onto her face, trying to cool down her heated skin, and stared at her reflection. He was just teasing… There was no other rational explanation for their relationship.

Not that she could see, anyway.

* * *

"Zelda," Karane approached the blonde at her computer, holding a piece of paper.

"Yeah?" She looked up at the red-orange haired girl from her monitor.

"Can you make 20 copies of these?" She asked. "I have to pick up my baby sister from her daycare now."

"Of course," Zelda smiled, accepting the paper. On it was a photo of the school's water polo team in the middle of a match. "Color or black and white?"

"Mm, black and white's fine for now," Karane replied while rummaging through her bag for her car keys. The executive writers were teaching the staffers the basics of taking good action shots for sports articles that week. "Just paper clip them together and leave them on my desk when they're finished."

"Alright," the blonde replied, getting up from her desk and walking towards the copy machine behind the editors' desks.

"I'm off, everyone!" Karane exclaimed, walking towards the open doors. The rest of the staff replied with scatters of "Bye!" and "I'll see you tomorrow!" and "Good work today!"

"Make sure you're here early tomorrow!" Link called out, not looking up from the article he was reading. "We're collating all afternoon!"

Collating, as they called it, was the process of organizing all the published copies of the newspaper into stacks to be distributed to all the newsstands across campus.

"I will!" Karane laughed in a sing-song tone as she waved to him with the hand that held her keys, the metal jingling in her hand. Link just chuckled and waved his own hand at her, and she was gone. As Karane left, from the corner of his eye he saw Zelda walk past him to his right, over to the copying machine.

"…I'm gonna get some water," Link said to Pipit, Midna and Saria. Saria was the editor in charge of the opinion articles section. The other editors were off across the room, helping out the other staffers and execs. "You guys want one?"

The three looked up from the copy of _The Lens of Truth_, the school paper from North Castle Town Prep, that they were all looking over and openly criticizing.

"Yeah, can you?" Pipit nodded. Midna and Saria simultaneously shook their heads, saying they were fine. Link quickly shrugged his brow in acknowledgement as he stood up and walked over to the refrigerator.

"Look at these butting headlines," Pipit scoffed, pointing at the headlines of two adjacent articles on the paper's front page.

"Amateurs," Midna laughed.

"And Comic Sans!" Saria cried. "Are you kidding me!"

At the copying machine, Zelda leaned forward onto its bulky mass as it vibrated heavily, making the copies she had ordered, when she heard a voice behind her.

"He's my brother."

Zelda turned around and saw Link bent over in front of the open fridge, rummaging through its contents.

"…Who?" Zelda asked quietly, but loudly enough that he could hear her over the whizzing of the copier and the chattering of the staff.

"The guy you saw me talking to in front of the building," he replied. He grabbed a water bottle and turned to his left. "Pipit!"

The freckled brunet turned over to Link, who tossed him the cold bottle. "Thanks!"

Zelda nodded slowly, her eyes darting away. So that explained why they looked so much alike…

"Raven Avalon," Link added. He took out another water bottle and offered it to her, but she just shook her head and waved her palm in a silent "No thanks." He nodded softly and closed the fridge with his hip, unscrewing the sealed bottle cap and taking a few gulps.

"He was editor-in-chief of _The Stone _five years ago."

Raven… The name she heard last Friday when the publishers came to pick up the proofs? When that man was scolding Link, saying that what happened that day wouldn't have happened if that Raven were still chief… That's who he was talking about?

Link pointed up at the wall the fridge was against. Zelda followed his index finger, which was directed at the collage of past _Gossip Stone_ staff photos. One of them, in a picture five from the far right, was the paper's staff from five years ago. Sure enough, a dark blond male who looked just like Link stood in the center of the group.

"…Why are you telling me that?" She asked. Though she had to admit that the man was oddly curious to her, and up until then she didn't didn't know who that Raven person that the publisher had mentioned the previous week.

"You seemed like you wanted to know," he shrugged. He walked over to her, and she quickly turned back to the copier. Hurry up, damn machine! Copy faster!

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like?" She retorted. "I'm making copies."

"For who?"

"Karane."

"For what?"

"Wednesday's photo lecture."

Zelda stared him down hotly. Like, while he was returning her gaze eye for eye, continued drinking his water listlessly. It irritated her so much, how everything just seemed like a joke to him. He put it down and chuckled at her. "So serious."

Zelda felt her face flush and turned away. Like you're one to talk, jackass!

"…Come with me to the publisher's office after we break for the day," Link said, scratching the back of his head. "They called a few minutes ago. Said the first issue's ready to be picked up."

She shook her head. "Why do _I _have to go with you?"

"Because I'm ordering you to."

_Such gall!_

"I have homework."

"I have college applications. Pick another excuse."

_Unbelievable!_

"Get one of the editors to go."

"If I wanted the editors, I would have asked them."

_So frustrating!_

"And besides," he leaned backwards onto the copy machine and tilted his head so that he was in her field of sight. "You want to be an editor, don't you?"

Zelda glared at him. She could slightly see her reflection in his glasses. His long fringes partially covered some of his face. His uniform sleeves were rolled up just below his elbows, and she could see a vein or two in his forearm… Okay, so it was _only_ objectively speaking. It had _nothing_ to do with her feelings one way or the other!

…But even she had to admit that Link was sort of… _kind of…_ in the right light… attractive.

"We don't just read over our staffers' shitty drafts and yell at them for it, believe it or not," he pointed his capped bottle squarely between her eyes. His tone sounded almost self-deprecating in that comment. "You want my job so badly? Get used to doing some of the work."

Okay, if not attractive, then he was just _unbelievably_ arrogant!

With that, he pushed himself off the machine with his elbows and walked back to his desk, leaving a fuming Zelda behind. With the last copy made, she bitterly swiped the stack of papers off the tray and grabbed the original photo from under the plate lid.

Damn copy machine, she cursed in her head as we walked over to Karane's desk to deliver the papers. Fucking copy faster next time!

* * *

For those who haven't been catching the reference to Raven's name, he's a character specific to the _Oracle of Ages_ manga. He looks almost identical to adult Link in _Ocarina of Time_, so that's where he comes from.

Sorry if this chapter didn't have much in the way of action. I used it mostly for setting the stage for what's to come in the future. I'll be sure to update once I'm finished editing the chapters I have lined up to be published. Please bear with me on that, though! I have term papers and such coming up so they're going to have to take priority (unfortunately; such is the life of a history major). Please feel more than welcome to leave a comment or two, though! Feedback is greatly appreciated.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	5. Issue V

And here it is, finally! I have quite a bit to say, but since I kept you waiting for this chapter for quite a bit, I'll save them until after you're done reading.

* * *

"_No_, Dad," Zelda sighed into the microphone of her cell phone, fighting down her irritation. "I don't want to go."

"It'll be a great experience for you!" Her father almost pleaded on the other end of the line. Zelda leaned against the window, looking down towards the quad where the cheerleaders were practicing some of their routines on the grass. She stood in the hallway outside of the office. Her father called, trying to convince her to go to an engineer's fair during the weekend. It was a not-so-subtle attempt to get her into something along the lines of engineering, like he did on his ship in the Navy. Zelda, having absolutely no interest in those kinds of things, was of course quick to refuse.

"It'd be a great experience if I wanted to do something like that," Zelda replied, extremely tired of the conversation.

"Don't you?"

"No!" Zelda cried out. She hadn't noticed, but Link was standing behind her across the hall, leaning against one of the open doors to the office.

"I've told you and Mom so many times before," Zelda said, trying to keep her cool. "I don't want to be an engineer or a doctor or scientist or anything like that!"

"Then what are you going to do?" He asked on the other end, as if this was just the first time they had ever talked about it.

"I told you," she replied with a sigh. "Something like English or education."

"A teacher?" He quipped. His tone almost sounded accusatory. "Don't they lay them off now?"

Zelda was _so_ close to exploding at him right there. If there was one thing she hated more, it was when people attacked her personal goals or choices. Far too many times have her parents' friends asked her what she wanted to do in life, and far too many times have they scrutinized her with judging eyes and stuck-up noses. As far as her parents were concerned, they were persuasive, yes, but never judging. That was the first time either her mother or father had done that.

"…Dad," she breathed in heavily. "If I wanted to be something like you or Mom, I would have shown interest in it by now."

"Well there's never a better time to start."

Her hand, which had been running through its locks, almost grabbed and pulled at them. If she tugged any harder, she'd end up with a pretty noticeable bald spot near the crown of her head. She felt someone's eyes on her then. She turned around to see Link, arms crossed, leaning on the wide door frame.

"…Dad, I have to go," she finally said quietly as she looked away from Link. "Newspaper business."

"…Okay," he said. "We'll talk about this tonight."

As far as she was concerned, there was hardly anything left to talk about.

"Bye." She pressed on the End Call button on her phone's glass touch screen before her father could say anything else. Gripping the phone tightly as if it were some sort of stress reliever toy, she walked briskly back into the office, making her way past Link.

"What was that?" He asked casually as she past him.

"Nothing," she replied quickly as she walked back to her desk. She and Link were the only ones left, since they had to go to the publisher's office to pick up the newspapers. She fought back tears of frustration from her father. Luckily her back was turned to Link so he couldn't see.

"Sounded like a whole lot of nothing."

Zelda didn't respond. She just angrily stuffed her belongings back into her book bag, haphazardly shuffling papers back into folders and slamming textbooks closed. Link just watched her closely, walking over to her slowly.

"It's not my business," he started with a shrug. "But it's my job to make sure my staff members are doing well academically, with _The Stone_, and personally. You don't have to say anything, but I want to at least make sure this—whatever it is, doesn't affect work."

Zelda looked up at him as she put her chemistry workbook into her book bag under her arm. He was just as stoic as ever, the way he looked at her. Yet she could see somewhere in his eyes, even though he would _never_ outwardly show it, the slightest hint of concern.

"…My parents are just…" She shook her head. She reached behind her head, grabbing her long hair and pulling it to the side over her shoulder. "College and major choices and things like that."

Link nodded slowly, leaning back against one of the room's support beams and sticking his hands into his pockets. "…Tell me about it."

It was lower than a mutter, but she had heard that. Was that an attempt to empathize just now? She smiled wryly for a split second; she noticed that every time Link showed some sort of positive emotion or said something that wasn't insulting, she always had to question herself whether it was genuine or not. Link really must have had a hard time showing his feelings, she thought.

"…Well don't worry about me," Zelda brushed the topic off, sniffling softly. She adjusted the straps of her book bag on her shoulder and walked past him, towards the door. "They're my problems; I'll deal with them outside of business."

Link watched her, pushing himself off the support beam. "That's all I need to know."

That sniffle just then, he thought. That wasn't because she was catching a cold or anything. He wasn't stupid.

She had been crying.

* * *

The car ride to the publisher's office was... painfully quiet.

Zelda sulked in the front passenger seat of Link's forest green coupe, arms crossed and forehead pressed against the window, almost huddling herself in the corner next to the door. Link wasn't any more talkative; he just kept both eyes on the road, his left hand on the steering wheel while his right lazily held onto the gearshift. If it weren't for the whirring of the air conditioner, the car was completely silent. Link didn't like driving to music, and Zelda didn't bother with turning on the radio lest she be criticized for her music choices like she knew Link would have no qualms with pouncing on.

She really didn't understand why _she_, of all staff members, had to come with him to pick up the finished newspapers. "Because it's an order" hardly justified it, not that Link would understand that concept; he had to be one of the most unreasonable, self-serving people she had ever met! If anything, it sounded like more work than just two people could complete. If other people had been asked to come along and she just so happened to be one of them, then she supposed she would have taken less of an issue with having to help, but no. Of course things wouldn't work out like that. _That_ would have been too perfect.

Her plan of minimizing time alone with Link was just working out _so_ fantastically it almost made her want to cry.

"…What are the execs teaching you all now?" Link finally cut through the silence as he gently pressed on the brake pedal as he approached a red light.

"Taking photos." Zelda answered in a bit of a mumble. "Those copies I made earlier were for Karane's lecture, remember?"

Link hummed softly in reply, nodding his head as he did so. "Make sure you take notes. We get too many crappy photos, especially for sports articles. By the time we get the drafts, it's too late to send them back to retake them—"

"I got it," Zelda cut him off with a wave of her hand, not looking at him. "You don't need to worry about me. I have my work cut out, so you just focus on yours."

He turned to her for a second. The way she was sitting in her seat, her back was halfway turned to him as she gazed out the window. Her legs were crossed tightly. He smiled inwardly to himself; the position she was sitting in didn't look all that comfortable. She looked like she was afraid he'd touch her inappropriately or something.

"…You're right, I guess," Link shrugged as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Karane told me as much."

Zelda glanced at him for a second at that, the first time she ever bothered to look at him since they got into the car. "What do you mean?"

"What did it sound like I meant?" He asked back almost rhetorically, though his tone actually didn't sound hostile that time. "She said you've been working hard. Not that I couldn't see that myself, though."

She studied Link for a second. 'Not that I couldn't see that myself?' Wait… did he just compliment her? That was definitely a compliment… right?

"…Thanks," she mumbled again, looking down then turning back to the window. It was close to evening rush hour; Link had decided to adjourn the meeting early so that they would have enough time to get to the printing office before office hours ended. People crowded the streets, most likely on their ways to the train stations or to some restaurants to get dinner.

At that time, a thought ran through Zelda's head. So Link talked to Karane outside of work? And they talked about her? What kind of relationship did they have? They seemed to be rather friendly with each other… Well, Karane was naturally a nice person. And Link… She at least had never seen him berate Karane the way he's berated others when he edited her papers or something like that. She remembered that one day when Karane mentioned that they'd see each other in calculus. So they had at least one class together. How many others did they have? Did they have classes with each other during their underclassmen years? Just how close were they?

…Hey! Hey, hey _hey! _Zelda shook her head lightly, breaking her train of thought. None of that was her business! Just let it go, Zelda!

"…When did she say that?"

Right then, Zelda wanted to kick her ass off a bridge for opening her mouth. _Why_ did you ask that!

Link glanced over to her as he signaled right and turned the corner. "We sit next to each other in calculus. Why?"

Zelda tried to fight back a blush, wanting to fling herself out the car window for letting her curiosity get the better of her. "No reason."

But once again, she didn't act quickly enough to hide it from Link, even without his glasses. He was just slightly near-sighted, not blind. "Are you jealous?"

"_Hell no!_"

Link just raised his right hand, mocking defensiveness at her sudden outburst, before signaling left into a turn pocket and turning into a parking lot.

Zelda glared at him hard before slumping back into her seat and turning away. Goddesses, Zelda! You're so stupid! You let him get the better of you _again!_ Be more careful next time!

After pulling into one of the spaces in the visitor's section, they both got out of the car and walked around the corner to the building's entrance.

"Quit being so uptight," Link said coolly, eyeing Zelda for a second. She was fixing her sweater vest and pressing out any wrinkles in her pleated skirt from how she had been sitting in the car. "It's just the printing office."

Zelda scoffed as they walked through the automatic sliding doors and into the lobby. "They're still our superiors! Show some respect! At least tuck your shirt in or something!"

He just waved her off as they got into the elevator. He pressed the button for the fourth floor. "I could care less about these people."

She sighed in resignation. She should have known trying to reason with Link on even the most simplest of things would be nothing short of a lost cause.

* * *

"These should be all of them, Mr. Avalon." The publisher employee loaded the last bundled stack of two hundred newspapers on one of the four rolling tote baskets they lent to Link and Zelda. "You can return the crates to the lobby when you're finished and the custodians can pick them up there."

"Thanks," Link nodded to him. "We're sorry again for the delay in getting these done."

"It didn't affect our schedule too much this time," the man shook his head as he dusted off his hands. He walked over to one of the wall mounted hand sanitizer dispensers. "Just be sure it doesn't happen again, please. Your school's paper was the last to be published this cycle, you know."

Link bowed his head slightly. "We'll manage our schedule accordingly next time."

"See to that," the man patted the teen on the shoulder. "Will you need help getting these down to your car? You're alone, right?"

Link shook his head; Zelda had used the restroom, so Link had to pick them up alone. "I have someone else with me, so we'll be fine."

Right then, Zelda came out of the women's restroom. The two men looked at her as she emerged.

"There she is," Link nodded his head to her. Zelda glanced at him questioningly, then looked over to the man.

"This is Zelda Harkinian," Link gestured to her, looking at the man. "She's one of our new writers this year."

"N-nice to meet you," Zelda smiled, quickly drying the last few droplets of water off her palms from when she washed her hands with her skirt and extending it out to him for a handshake. The man smiled warmly in return, accepting her hand and shaking it firmly.

"Likewise."

"She'll also be our business liaison from now on as well," Link added. "So talk to her about any of the deadlines and other printing schedule points from now on."

"I'm…" Zelda stared at Link in total confusion. "I-I'm what?"

"Quite the promotion for a new writer," the man laughed, letting go of Zelda's hand. "Don't you think, Mr. Avalon?"

Link just shrugged, completely ignoring Zelda's dumbfounded glare. "She can handle it."

Zelda was at a loss for words. What was Link talking about? 'Business liaison?' Not even a minute ago she was just a staff writer who had to use the restroom! Was he kidding? He was kidding! He was just toying with her again! He was… And she couldn't… She had never even… She was _what!_

"Well," the man checked his watch. "I have to be going, if you two would excuse me. I have a quick meeting to attend to." He shot Zelda a quick smile. "Ms. Harkinian, we'll be in touch then."

With that, the man took his leave, leaving the two teenagers behind.

"…What the _hell_ was that just now!" Zelda slapped Link's arm with the back of her hand as soon as the man was gone. "'Business liaison!' Are you joking with me again!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he shrugged as he crossed his arms, looking away from her. "I've never joked around with you once."

She just stared daggers into him, more than fed up with his attitude. "You don't just make decisions like that on your own!"

"I think I can," he retorted bluntly. "I'm the editor-in-chief."

_Oh. My. Goddesses._

"But that isn't the point," he looked at her. "I ran it past the editors during business and they all agreed to it. You got your stories in first before anyone else, anyway. I don't know why you're not so thrilled."

"_That_ isn't the point either!" Zelda cried out. "Don't you think promoting an executive writer takes higher priority than a staffer!"

"Did you not want it?"

Zelda shut her mouth for a second, eyes faltering. "…It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

She sighed softly, running a hand through her long hair, combing through any tangles with her fingers. Deep down, amidst all the initial shock at such sudden news, she was slightly happy that she was getting something like a promotion so quickly. The fact that the entire editorial staff thought she could do something like that, if anything, just validated the work she'd been putting into _The Stone_. She went into it thinking that everyone had the impression that she was just some snotty kid trying to get into college with as many sprinkles on her applications as she could manage, not really caring about the quality of her work. If they could see just how truly serious she was about working after just the first issue, then it was _some_ progress.

"I… don't know what I'd have to do," she finally said.

"I just told you," he shifted his weight onto one leg and put his hand on his hip. "You sync our production schedule with the printing press'. You help the editors and me make sure the staff keeps their deadlines so that we don't mess theirs up like what happened with the first issue."

Zelda nodded slowly, listening to him intently. It seemed like a fair enough job. Not quite editor, but it sounded like she assumed quite an amount of responsibility.

"And you come with me to pick up the finished papers when the publishers are finished printing."

…Oh, of course.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"…No."

"Good." Link finally took hold of the handles of two of the wheeled crates, one hand each, and began walking down the hall towards the elevator. "Come on."

Zelda followed suit behind him, but she struggled to keep up just because of how heavy her crates were. This really was too much work for just two people to do. From the corner of his eye, Link noticed that Zelda was having a bit of a hard time wheeling the crates. He thought as much, given the way she took heavy steps to counterbalance the weight and the way she was breathing heavily. "…Here, load some of your papers onto mine."

"It's fine," Zelda quickly rebuffed his offer with a firm voice, not wanting to look weak. She hastened her pace slightly after that, realizing that Link had noticed her struggling.

"Liar," he said bluntly. He stopped walking, propping his crates upright. Zelda came to a halt as well, and watched Link kneel down and take two bundles each out of her crates and stacking them into his. "That better?"

She pulled out the collapsible handles and wheeled them down the hall a few steps to test them out. They were much lighter, more comfortable to manage. "…Yeah. Sorry."

He just shook his head, silently telling her it was fine. He took hold of the handles again and caught up with her. His stacks were much heavier than they already were, but he had dealt with worse before.

Zelda glanced over to him, shaking her head a bit so her hair fell in such a way that it obscured his view of her face. The veins in Link's arms bulged slightly as he wheeled the crates behind him, a testament to how heavy they were. Strong arms with visible veins had always been a bit of a turn-on for her…

"What are you staring at?" His voice rumbled, almost playfully.

Unfortunately for her, Link had caught her looking at him _again._

"N-nothing." She shot back, looking back up, trying to force down the sudden heat overtaking her cheeks. Approaching the elevator, Link pressed the down button, smiling softly to himself. This girl, for as tough as she tried to make herself out to be all the time, was _way_ too easily flustered.

* * *

"…Link?"

Zelda, from the corner of her eye, saw and heard Link curse a bitter "Fuck" under his breath at the sound of his name. She recognized that deep voice.

The two stopped and turned around to see a man in a black business suit with a light gray necktie. It was the man who came by the past Friday to pick up the paper proofs. He held his briefcase in one hand, and his car keys in the other.

"Get in the car," Link muttered to Zelda, eyes not tearing away from the middle-aged man approaching them. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and he turned to her. "That's an order."

Zelda sighed softly, not wanting to make a scene, especially in front of such an important looking man. She walked around to the passenger side, opened the door and quietly slipped in. From the rearview mirror that jetted out of the windshield, she saw Link bow slightly to the man, the two having some sort of conversation that she really couldn't hear due to the insides of the car being so well insulated.

What was Link's deal just then? Zelda furrowed her brow in thought. The way Link reacted when he heard the man's voice behind them was obviously anything but happy. Was he still upset that they had been so late in turning in the proofs to the printers? Or was he still mad about what the man had said about comparing him to his brother? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't her business.

From the rearview window, the man glanced at her through the mirror for a second, followed by Link from the corner of his eye. Zelda quickly looked away, nervously running a hand through her hair.

Yeah, it definitely wasn't any of her business.

**…**

After a while, after Zelda felt the car shake a bit from the slamming of the trunk, Link opened the driver's door and got in, and heaved a deep sigh. Zelda glanced at him from the corner of her eye, before turning back to the shrubbery they had parked in front of.

"…Not gonna ask what all that was about?" Link finally spoke, buckling his seatbelt and turning the ignition on.

She turned to him, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "Did you want me to ask?"

He just snorted in response.

"I'm a smart girl," Zelda shrugged, putting on her own seatbelt and folding her arms. "I know when something doesn't concern me."

While Link had his torso twisted to the right so that he could look over his shoulder and back out of the parking space, he looked over to Zelda for a second. "…Thanks."

Zelda just nodded silently, but she noticed someone standing at Link's door window.

"Hey," she spoke. Link turned to him, then followed where her finger was pointing past him towards the window. It was the man again.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me…" Link growled as he turned back in his seat and rolled his window down. "Yes?"

"Your parents' anniversary is this weekend," the man said, his hands in his pants pockets. "Are you going?"

"I'm busy with school," Link responded hastily, not looking him in the eye. "I'll send a greeting card."

"I think whatever schoolwork you have can wait a couple of hours to have dinner with your family," the man replied as a matter-of-factly.

Zelda tried her best to not look like she wasn't eavesdropping by looking out her window. What did the man have to do with Link's parents and his family?

"Your parents haven't seen you in months."

"They were never home to begin with," Link shot back. "They've dealt with not seeing me for longer."

The two men were quiet for a moment. Link glanced back over to Zelda, who was sitting with her arms crossed, text messaging on her phone with one hand.

"…I have to get my friend home," Link finally spoke, turning to the man. "We'll have our future issues done on schedule from now on."

Before the man could say anything else, Link rolled his window back up and peeled out of the parking space, driving back onto the road.

The ride back, if the way to the publisher's office wasn't quiet enough, was deathly silent. Link stayed focused on the road, while Zelda kept to herself, looking out the window. What had happened there in the parking lot? Who was that man? And why did he know about Link's family like that? Whoever he was and whatever their relationship, Link obviously wanted nothing to do with him, and he clearly had some family issues to say the least. Or at least that's how it sounded back there.

"…Now I'm kind of curious," Zelda whispered audibly, breaking the silence. Link glanced over to her at that.

"…He's the director of the publishing office," Link replied. "And he's my uncle."

Zelda turned to him, her eyes wide. "He's… He's what?"

"Avalon Publishing," he shrugged. "You have one of your textbooks?"

She nodded slowly as she stared at him in surprise, reaching down at her legs to pull out her chemistry workbook. She flipped to one of the first pages with the copyright listings on it, and sure enough:

AVALON PUBLISHING COMPANY 20XX  
CLOCK TOWN – HYRULE CASTLE TOWN – KAKARIKO VILLAGE – KOHOLINT – WINDFALL CITY

PRINTED IN HYRULE AT THE AVALON PRESS, HYRULE CASTLE TOWN

So _that_ was the connection to his last name… Wait, so he wasn't living with his parents? …Was he living with his uncle then? Was that how he was at East Castle Town Prep?

"My father's the editor-in-chief of _The Hylia_," Link added. _The Great Hylia_, its full name, was the largest national newspaper in Hyrule, and had the largest worldwide circulation of any broadsheet publication. It published twice daily: one in the morning, and one in the evening. "And my grandfather owns it and the rest of the Avalon Group."

"…I see," was all Zelda said in reply, still in a bit of shock. She really had been wondering what Link's family did, how he added up the rest of Castle Town Prep's rich student population. It all made sense then. It was no wonder why Link was the chief editor of _The Gossip Stone_ and why he was so serious about it. It was no wonder why that man—his uncle, the head of a publishing company, was so hard on him when they were late turning in the first issue and why he compared him to his brother, who had also been a chief editor. Link was the heir to Hyrule's biggest journalism dynasty!

"…So you're going to take over _The Great Hylia_ when your dad retires or something?" She asked.

"The plan is that my brother takes over the morning edition and I take the evening," he replied with a bit of a scoff. "Though I don't know what the hell family name has to do with ability anymore."

Zelda nodded slowly. She thought about the same thing before, she remembered. It seemed like such an odd practice, especially in their current age. Hyrule and the rest of the world were all completely modernized; did _all_ companies keep ownership in the family like that?

"If it were up to me," he shrugged, "I'd just give the whole damn paper to my brother and leave myself out of it."

It was more information about Link than she had anticipated learning of, much less in one day like that. And for someone so gung-ho about making _The Stone_ the best school newspaper it could be and upholding its high reputation, he sure didn't sound all that thrilled that he was already set to inherit part of the country's most popular news publication.

But that was enough. She didn't need to know anymore. None of that concerned her, right? He was just another rich kid at school with an inheritance complex.

"…You can turn right here to get back to my place," Zelda spoke softly in an attempt to change the subject, pointing at the intersection coming up. She reached into her bag for her bottle of water and took a few drinks.

"I know," he replied. "You had to put your address on your application, remember?"

Zelda nodded silently.

"And I live in the same building anyway."

She choked on one of her swallows of water at that, covering her mouth to keep from spilling.

"Hey!" He glared at her. "Watch out! That's leather you're sitting on!"

"Y-you what!" She stared at him, coughing some and capping her bottle. "You live where?"

"Are you deaf?" He scoffed at her. When they reached a red light, he turned into the back seat and pulled out a box of tissues and gave it to her. "Sapphire Towers, right? I live on the fifth floor."

She couldn't believe him. He was _definitely_ kidding again! There was no other explanation! He _couldn't_ have been serious! The two of them living in the same apartment building was just too perfect!

"Since when!"

"I moved in at the beginning of last summer vacation," he replied. "I didn't know you lived there either, until I saw it on your application."

"I-I never see you when I walk to school or on the train or even on the elevator, o-or in the laundry room or anything!"

"I drive to and from school, _obviously_," he shrugged. She sulked at his condescending tone. No matter how often she heard it, it still bothered the hell out of her. "And I have a washer and dryer in my apartme—"

"M-move out!" She cried, slapping his arm.

His brow knit tightly, pulling back away from her. "What? H-hey, be careful! You want me to crash?"

"Aren't you still 17!"

"I pay rent with my trust."

"Don't blow money like that! Move back in with your family or something!"

"_Fuck_ no!"

"I can't _believe_ this!"

"What the hell's your problem?" He sighed, turning on the air conditioner. He could feel the temperature in the car rising from just their heated argument. "There was nothing wrong until you found out I live in the same building as you, right?"

She just glared him down, but he avoided her gaze. _That_ was precisely the problem! They couldn't live in the same building! It's true she had never run into Link before during the past summer—not that she could remember, anyway, but that was beside the point! The two of them, three floors apart? What was this, a sappy love novel!

Tch, fine. If that's how it was going to be, then she'd just avoid him at all costs! Seeing him at school and spending all afternoon with him at the office was more than enough of Link than she needed. The last thing she wanted was for their living situation to complicate their relationship even further. It was only for the rest of the school year anyway, right? He was graduating in June. He had better find another apartment by then, or at least dorm someplace at whatever university he was planning on attending. Hopefully one far, _far_ away.

Oh _Goddesses_, it was going to be a long school year.

* * *

This chapter, honestly, was another case in which it there were many more scenes in my original draft (mostly after the car ride home with Link and Zelda), but I took them out during editing because of pacing. Don't worry, they'll appear in chapter six. :] Two quick review response (because you don't have signed accounts so I can't reply personally):

**Anony-mouse:** No, I live in southern California, so I run on Pacific time. I just have a really bad habit of sleeping at ungodly hours, mostly because I'm writing and editing this story (and consequently procrastinating on my schoolwork, haha). But I'm glad you've been enjoying so far! I hope you'll continue to privilege me with your reading and feedback. :]

**Teeth of Wisdom:** Thank you! Though I think I may have brought up more questions with this chapter than answered those which have already been swimming around, haha. I hope I keep you entertained enough to want to find out those answers! I already have them planned; it's just a matter of when I choose to reveal them, ahaha.

And to everyone else, thank you all for the well-wishes with my finals, by the way! I actually squeezed this chapter in while writing my last term paper because I felt bad to have kept you waiting, and with my birthday coming up (turning the big 20; that's eight years of my life dedicated to this website!), I knew I'd be too busy celebrating it over the weekend to write. So here we are! Feedback is always appreciated.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	6. Issue VI

And here's chapter six! Before we start, I just want to say thank you very much for the birthday well-wishes, everyone!

* * *

Despite living in the same building as Link—three floors above him, no less, Zelda thought of herself as incredibly lucky enough to not have had any run-ins with him around the complex in the two and a half weeks following that Monday they went to the publishing office together.

Zelda entered the small stairwell shaft of the north building, heading for _The Stone_'s office. Most of the campus was still empty; she was quite a bit earlier at school than she usually was. She remembered the night before right as she was on the subway home that she had forgotten her notebook in the office, and in it contained the homework she had to do last night. She figured if she showed up early, it'd give her enough time to pick it up and try to finish it before the first bell rang, as well as during classes and lunch.

The Tuesday after she and Link went to the publishers', her little promotion was announced formally to the rest of the staff. Since then, she'd been noticeably busier with business on top of what she had to do as a staff writer, what with still having to learn everything the executives had to teach. Even if she was given a more formal position, she still had to contribute stories; everyone had to regardless of position or experience. Even the editors, and even Link.

She also found herself making more announcements to the staff and kind of harping on everyone to meet the deadlines. But of course, people didn't really seem to listen to her; whether they were making a conscious decision not to or not was another question, but some writers were still lagging on getting their drafts in on time. And of course, the stories that came in late were always the ones that the editors found the most important and wanted to publish the most. It was beginning to get tired really quickly, and she had only gotten the job not even a month ago! Was that was it was really like, having to rely on others to get their work done on time? She had to give credit to the editors for being able to put up with it, and especially to Link for having to deal with the entire staff on it. Even though he ruled with an iron fist, to say the very least.

But still, she liked what she did. She liked having that responsibility. And what she liked the most was that the editor staff trusted her enough—someone who had barely been at _The Stone_ for a month, to do it. She couldn't really complain, either. She also got an updated badge that said "BUSINESS MANAGER" instead of "STAFF WRITER," and it also said as much in the staff listings in the editorial section of the paper and in her bylines in every story she'd get published from then on. That kind of formal acknowledgement was nice.

"Oof!" She had bumped into someone, unaware of where she had been walking amidst mulling through her thoughts. "I'm so sorry!"

"…You?"

She looked up at the sound of the deep voice; she had been looking straight down at the floor the whole she had been walking. When she looked up, she saw the person she had bumped into was the suited man she had run into that one day along with Link outside of the building.

His brother, Raven.

Zelda's eyes widened a little bit. She had been surprised that she had been so careless she literally walked right into someone, but now she was even moreso that it was _Link's brother_, of all people. What was he doing here? He stared down at her with the same emotionless expression he had on the first time she had seen him. It wasn't all that far off from the one Link usually had on, or the one the man who was apparently their uncle made either. What, did chronic tightassness run in their family genes?

"I'm sorry," Zelda bowed again, taking a few steps back and to the side to allow Raven to pass. "I should have been more careful."

"…Tell me about it," was all he muttered in a low voice as he dusted off his necktie and sharp, well-fitted suit: he was wearing a dark gray vest over a white dress shirt with matching pants.

She furrowed her brow at his sudden rudeness; good thing she was still facing down so he couldn't see it. Yeah, attitude problems were _definitely_ a dominant gene in these people.

"Oh… Harkinian, is it?" He asked.

She looked up at that and nodded slightly. "Um, yes… Zelda Harkinian… Um, may I ask how you know my name?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, slipping a hand into his pants pocket. "I saw your nametag for _The Stone_ the last time we saw each other."

So he remembered who she was. That was kind of surprising. She would have thought a guy like him, whatever he did, would be so busy he couldn't be bothered with remembering names and faces.

"And I've heard about you from my uncle," he added.

Zelda tilted her head a bit a that, raising an eyebrow. "Your… Your uncle?"

He nodded. "You met him, right? He runs the printing office that publishes _The Stone?_"

"Well… Yeah, I have," she nodded quickly. "I mean… Not personally, anyway. But I've seen him before."

How did their uncle know her name? She's seen him twice before, but they've never formally introduced themselves to each other. The only way he could have known anything about her was… if Link mentioned her to him. But that one time in the car in the parking lot then, Link never called her by name, just as a friend. Though as far as Zelda was concerned, they were _hardly_ even that. So Link talked about her to him when she wasn't around?

"Said you were the business manager or something like that," Raven shrugged. "Some job you got there. Are you sure you can handle that? You better not screw up. This isn't something like the _yearbook_ you're working for."

She could feel her cheeks heating up. What was this guy's problem?

"I appreciate the concern," Zelda shook her head, stuttering a bit. "But I'm handling it just fine! You don't need to worry about me."

Raven ignored her, walking over to the windows facing the quad that lined the wall. "But I guess it's not entirely your fault. Link's the one who appointed you, right?" He looked over his shoulder to her. "If anything, it's more his fault than your incompetence."

Her back and arms stiffened at that. Her fist balled up some of the fabric of her skirt, wrinkling it finely. This guy… He was worse than Link! What did he have against her all of a sudden? They had barely even met and talked five minutes!

"Everything's going just fine!" Zelda blurted out. "And if something wrong happens, then it _is_ my responsibility! That's my job, isn't it!"

He just smirked and shrugged his broad shoulders. "You tell me."

Zelda inhaled deeply, looking away from him. She couldn't believe this guy! Yeah, he was _definitely_ worse than Link!

"Well," he finally spoke after a moment of tense silence between them. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen for the time. "I'll be going now. You do your job, Miss Harkinian."

Zelda watched him walk down the hall, glaring him down. What a wonderfully pleasant way to start the day off, that conversation. She was about to turn to head for the office, but then she heard Raven's footsteps stop and his voice call out for her.

"By the way," he started. Zelda turned around to face him, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Stay away from my brother." He said flatly.

Her eyes widened; she was so caught off guard by that, she almost even staggered a step back. What was that just now? 'Stay away from my brother?' What did that mean!

"…Sorry?" She asked after a second, shaking her head a bit. She was already confused enough by his accusations and belittling; where had _that_ come from all of a sudden? But by the time she was able to get her question out, Raven had already turned back for the stairwell, and he was all but ignoring her.

"Hey!" Zelda called out to him. "What do you mean!" She was ready to chase after him, turn him around and press him for questions or something, but he was already gone, the door slamming loudly behind him. Just after Raven's sudden departure, she heard another door open behind her.

"The hell is all the noise out here?"

Link's voice.

Zelda whirled around to see one of the doors to the office swinging open, and out poked Link's head.

"You mind not—" He stopped mid-sentence, scratching the back of his head with his left hand that also held a pen, when he saw Zelda. He stared at her for a second—Zelda returning the same lost gaze, before his shoulders fell and leaned against the doorframe "…Oh, it's just you."

Zelda's brow furrowed a second, but she just shrugged him off. She had grown so used to that tone of voice she didn't even question it anymore. Not that that was anything to be proud of.

"What was all that noise just now?" Link asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"…Nothing," Zelda replied quietly as she walked towards him for the door. Should she tell him? Oh, she just ran into your brother who you seem to have so much of a bad relationship with, who verbally attacked her and threatened her to stay away from you. But it was nothing though, so don't even worry about it.

…No, she was probably better off not telling him that much. Yeah, she didn't need anything more complicated, especially at such an ungodly early hour in the morning. "I just walked into a student and got into an argument and told me to watch where I was going and all."

Not the truth. But not really much of a lie, either.

"You actually_ bumped_ into them?" He just chuckled wryly, shaking his head. "…Of course you did."

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "…Shut up. What are you doing here so early anyway?"

"Should be my line," he replied cheekily as she walked past him into the office. He stood up straight and casually pushed the door behind him closed.

"I forgot my notebook here yesterday," Zelda replied as she walked towards her desk. "What about you?"

"Looking over a few of the editors' last page drafts." He walked over to the water heater on the table next to the fridge and turned it off. He peeled off the paper lid cover of his cup of instant noodles and placed it under the heater spout and dispensed the boiling water into the cup.

Zelda nodded quietly and peered over the waist-high bookshelf that was next to her table, and there was her spiral notebook where she had left it. "Well I got what I needed," she said. She picked up the notebook and slipped it into her book bag. "I'll let you get back to your editing, so I'm going to finish my homework in the library. Sorry for interrupting you."

Link looked up from the water dispenser and watched her make her way for the door.

"You didn't interrupt me," he finally spoke. He sat back down at his desk and gently placed the steaming cup of noodles on the desktop, putting his binder on top of it to keep the heat insulated inside to soften the noodles. He put his eyeglasses back on, kicked his shoes off under his desk and brought his legs up to the seat and folded them under him. "You can do your work here if you want to."

Zelda didn't respond right away; she hesitated on whether to take his offer up or not. Wait, no! Don't say yes! Remember Operation Avoid Link!

"It's fine," she quickly shook her head. "I tend to talk to myself when I do my homework," she lied, "so I don't want to bother."

"What's the point of going to the library of all places if you're just going to end up being loud?" He asked almost incredulously.

She stammered for a second. Good Goddesses, did Link have terrible timing in deciding on whether to be rational or not. "I-I—"

"Do you really hate being alone with me that much?"

Zelda froze at that. She turned around to face Link over her shoulder. He was sitting at his desk, his cheek resting on his knuckle. He stared at her from behind his thick wire rim frames. The question just then sounded neither rhetorical nor sarcastic… It actually sounded rather genuine.

It wasn't so much the question itself, but the fact that the way he asked it _wasn't_ in his typical sarcasm was what surprised her. Why was he asking her that? He just shrugged a bit, scratching the back of his head some. "Do you?"

"…I'm going to the library." With that, she quietly left the room, softly closing the door behind her. Link said nothing, nor did he try to stop her. He just sighed softly and with a push of his glasses against the bridge of his nose to prevent them from falling, turned back to the draft in front of him.

* * *

"Y-yes, I know," Zelda nodded, cradling her cell phone in the crook of her neck between her cheek and shoulder. "I'm so sorry once again!"

"We're not going to go through the same thing we went through last issue, are we!" The man on the other line demanded, his patience quickly wearing thin.

"No, sir!" She quickly shook her head, as if the man were right in front of her.

She had spent the last ten minutes on the phone with the man from the printing office. That afternoon after business, she was supposed to go to the office to drop off the final proofs for the second issue of the paper. The problem was that they were missing three of them, and at the rate the staff was working, it seemed like they wouldn't have them done on time. They _would_ have been, but Link, being the perfectionist he was and having such terrible timing he had, decided that a few articles in the opinions pages weren't deemed fit enough for publishing and ordered the backup stories be published instead. And that required another session of draft edits and rearrangements to layouts that otherwise would have been completely finished. _Today_, of all days, he made that decision. She almost felt like he had done it to spite her, since she would be the one who would have to contact the printers should something like a delay occur.

The man sighed so heavily she could almost feel his breath blow through the earpiece. "When will we get your proofs!"

"We only have three more pages to complete!" She answered. "If we could have just one more day—"

"We agreed mutually that _today_ they'd be finished!"

From across the room, Link watched Zelda from his desk, looking up from his computer monitor over to her ever so often.

"I-I know, sir! B-but just this on—"

"Hold on," the man groaned, cutting her off. In the background, she could hear two men talking, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. As she waited, she looked down at the desk calendar that lay flat on the tabletop. On today's date she circled multiple times in red rink and wrote in all capitals, "PROOFS DUE." She also wrote it on the large white board calendar in front of the room so everyone could see. What, did no one in the room but her have eyes! It was _right there!_ How come no one could ever get their work in on time!

"Miss Harkinian."

"Y-yes!" Zelda quipped, jumping slightly at the sudden, sharp mention of her name.

"I'm sorry, but I have to attend a quick meeting," the man said. "But I'm calling back in half an hour from now! We aren't done with this discussion yet!"

"Yes, of course!" Zelda responded hastily. Before she could say a goodbye, though, the man hung up. Setting her phone down, she sighed exasperatedly and picked her pen up. She uncapped it and crossed out "PROOFS DUE" on her calendar, drawing a small sad face next to it.

"Excuse me!" Zelda called out to everyone, getting up from her chair and picking her phone up. The whole staff quieted down, turning to her. "I'm trying to get our deadline pushed back to tomorrow, but it isn't… really going so well. So I really need everyone to work as fast as they can to get our pages done by today so we can actually meet the deadline!"

From the editor's section, Midna just laughed. "Good luck with that!" She exclaimed, her words drenched in sarcasm. "We're definitely gonna need that extension the way we're going now!"

Zelda walked over to her, crossing her arms over her chest in contempt. "That's why I'm asking you all to work faster! We had this deadline set for almost three weeks! Aren't you an editor? You should know better than us how to work under a tight schedule!"

"Zelda," Karane spoke with a sheepish smile, looking up from the group of staffers she was tutoring. "I have to be a bit honest with you, but we've never had a deadline set this early before."

The blonde looked at the orange-haired girl for a second. "…Really?"

"We usually get at least three weeks before we have to submit everything," Saria added. Zelda turned to her.

"You didn't have the publishers set the date _for_ you, did you?" Midna giggled. Zelda didn't respond. It was just as Midna deduced; Zelda had agreed on the deadline the printers proposed, thinking there wouldn't be a problem with it. Midna turned to Link, who was still working on his computer. "Are you sure we made the right decision giving her that job?"

Zelda blushed hotly at that. Of all the editors, aside from Link of course, her relationship with Midna was probably the coolest. Midna was helpful and could actually be nice when she decided she needed to be, but often she did more than her fair share of teasing and sarcastic comments with the rest of the staff.

"Look back at past production schedules," Link finally said to Zelda, though he didn't look up from his monitor. He opened a drawer next to him and pulled out a large, overfilled file of desktop calendar pages and casually dropped it on his desk next to him. "We archive them for a reason, you know. You'll see that Karane, Midna and Saria are right; you let them set the deadline _way_ too early."

She swallowed hard, looking over to the calendar on the white board where she circled the date in bold, red dry eraser marker ink. Was it… Was it really her fault…?

"Y-you never told me about that!" Zelda exclaimed, quickly growing irritated. "Why didn't you tell me sooner when I first told you about the deadline!"

"It's not our job," Link snapped. "That's _your_ department, Newbie. We just go along with what you tell us."

"Well I wouldn't have let them set it so early if I had known what was early and what was late! You never told me you backlog the schedules!"

"You didn't ask."

Her jaw almost dropped. "I _told_ you the day you gave me this job that I didn't know how to do this!"

"And I _told_ you what you have to do!" Link shot back, taking his glasses off and standing up. "Didn't I? And I asked you if you had any more questions, and you said you didn't! Why the hell should I bother with trying to teach you something you don't ask me about!"

"…W-well isn't it better to get things done on time earlier, anyway?" She shrugged. "Finishing early would only add to _The Stone_'s reputation, wouldn't it?"

He just stared at her with this horribly condescending sneer. "Are you _that_ stupid?"

Her eyes widened. _What_ did he just say?

"_The Stone_ is as successful as it is _because_ we take our time," Link sighed. "Would you rather speed through the entire process and produce shit, or give yourself enough time to actually do work well and make it good? The point, _Newbie_, is that this early deadline of yours threw our pacing off. The printers obviously didn't take you seriously when you agreed to today as the deadline because no one but a rookie would let them do that."

They both hotly glared each other down, the entire room silent with their eyes on the pair. Zelda seriously had had it with Link beyond she could handle. He was just so infuriating, where did he get off! It wasn't his problem? It wasn't his job? Like _hell_ it wasn't his problem and his job! _He_ was the one who gave her the responsibility in the first place!

She was so unbelievably frustrated; she could feel the beginnings of tears starting to form. But not wanting to look weak in front of the staff, and especially in front of Link, she just blinked them away and stormed off, heading for the exit and slamming the doors behind her.

* * *

Zelda leaned over the railings on the edge of the north building's roof, a soft breeze gently sweeping past her. She could see the football team practicing in the athletic fields in the distance and the cheerleader squad running through their usual routines on the grassy knoll in the quad. She checked her phone for the time; it was ten minutes before the man from the publishers said he would call back, and she still didn't have a convincing enough argument planned to allow them to have the one day extension.

That Link… He was so unbelievably big headed! She wanted so much to just go back down to the office, look him up in the eye and punch him! She couldn't believe that, even under all the visible amount of stress she was under, _that_ was all he had to say! No words of encouragement, or even a sliver of help. Just 'It's not our job,' and just like that it seemed like he expected her to be able to fix it herself!

But… she knew that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't blame Link for everything. She remembered what Raven had said to her that morning. If she messed up, it was her responsibility for being too careless, not Link's for appointing her. That's what she told him, and she had to own up to that. Yeah, Link dropped the ball in just assuming she could do the job no questions asked… but then she was guilty for the same thing, right? It would be too selfish to force the staff to work faster just because of her mistake.

Accepting responsibility—that was the mature thing to do. Too bad it offered no solution to the problem.

She heard the door to the stairwell open behind her. She looked over her shoulder, and there stood Saria smiling softly at her. Zelda smiled back a bit before turning back to the view before her.

"How are you doing?" Saria asked as she approached her. She leaned forth against the railing next to the blonde.

Zelda sniffled, wiping the last of her tears away. "I'm feeling a little better. Thanks."

"You know, it's okay to cry," Saria patted her on her shoulder. Zelda looked down at her, still smiling a bit, Saria was quite short despite being a senior. She went up to just the middle of Zelda's forearm, maybe an inch or two below her shoulders.

"I think I'm done with that," Zelda chuckled a bit. "But thanks, Saria."

"We've all cried at least once due to stress from business," Saria giggled a bit. "I mean, I've cried a few times last year, so you're not alone! And it's just the beginning of the year, so you'll see others cry too if it makes you feel better!"

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at that, the idea of feeling better because someone else was crying. Oddly enough, though, it still cheered her up. In a bit of an ironic sort of way, she supposed. "I-I'll definitely keep that in mind."

Saria sighed a bit, calming her laughing down. "As long as you're feeling better… Link really should have been more direct with you in how to negotiate deadlines with the printers, though."

The blonde chuckled wryly at that shaking her head. "Nooo kidding…"

"But the other editors and I should have known!" Saria adjusted the hairband that pushed her shoulder length light green hair back. "What with how Link is and everything… But I really don't think he made a mistake in givng that job to you and not someone else."

Zelda turned to her at that.

"I mean, we all had our doubts to be honest, since you just barely started writing for us," Saria added. "Business manager is one of the jobs that usually only second year staff members get."

The taller girl sighed, resting her cheek on her palm. "…Then why did he give _me_ the job? I even told him that he should have given it to an executive…"

Saria shrugged her shoulders, honestly unable to come up with a reason. "I can't read his mind, but he must have had a good reason. I mean, he _insisted_ that it be you."

Zelda looked down at her for a second. Did he really? …Why was that?

The two girls heard the stairwell door open again. They turned around to see who it was that opened it, and saw it was Link. His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders slumped casually a bit. Zelda furrowed her brow at him. He really was the last person she wanted to see.

Link just stood across from them for a few seconds before clearing his throat softly. "Saria," he started, pointing his thumb behind him to the door. "Get back to work. Your pages are the ones that are still missing."

The green-haired girl nodded quickly. "Sorry." She flashed Zelda a quick smile before jogging towards the door. As she passed Link, he reached down and ruffled her short hair a bit. She playfully swatted his hand away from her, shaking her head with a giggle, before opening the door and leaving the two blonds alone, softly closing it behind her. Link looked back at Zelda. Her back was turned to him; she was too busy staring out into the distance and trying to forget he was there. He just took in a soft breath before walking over to her.

Zelda just ignored him as he stood next to her. Go away! She left the office for a reason!

"…What?" Zelda sighed heavily, scratching the crown of her head and pulling her hair back with her fingers in one fluid motion. She didn't look at him though. "Gonna insult me some more?"

Link said nothing. He just reached into his pocket and pulled out a small folded piece of notebook paper and handed it to her. She eyed it for a second before speaking again. "…What is that?"

"Just take it," he snapped back. Zelda shot him a dirty look, as if to yell 'Don't talk to me like that!', before swiping it from between his thumb and index finger. She unfolded it and saw in Link's handwriting a bulleted list of what looked like directions.

She shrugged. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Tips," he replied. He folded his arms and rested them against the railing. "On how to deal with the publishers. You're too direct. Just watching you argue with them pissed me off."

"Tch!" Zelda scoffed, crumpling the paper in her fist.

"What?" He cocked an eyebrow, turning his body to face her. "Are you gonna cry?"

"No!" She retorted, her face flushing deeply. She opened her mouth to say something, but her phone interrupted, vibrating in her hand. She looked at the caller ID on the screen. It was the man from the printing office again.

Link shrugged a bit after her phone vibrated a few times. "Is that them? …Aren't you going to answer it?"

"…Yeah," she muttered under her breath and sliding her thumb across the screen to answer the call. "…Hello?"

Zelda walked away from Link, wanting to talk to the man more privately. In her free hand, she uncrumpled the paper Link gave her and unfolded it, skimming through his directions. Link watched her quietly before deciding to leave her be. Pushing himself off the railing, he walked back towards the door to the stairwell, closing it softly behind him, leaving Zelda alone.

* * *

Zelda opened the refrigerator, reaching inside for a can of Blue Potion.

"How did it go?" Link asked her from in front of the copy machine.

"…They agreed to extend our deadline to tomorrow," she replied nonchalantly. She held the can away from her at arm's length as she snapped the tab, the liquid inside fizzing audibly.

"Of course they did," he snorted in a smug, matter-of-fact tone. "You followed my directions, didn't you?"

She just scoffed and took a sip of her soda. The truth is, Link was right. When the printer called, she swallowed her pride and—albeit grudgingly, followed the steps Link had written out for her. The negotiation went much more smoothly than she imagined, actually, after doing so. The man still seemed a bit upset, but he sounded much more willing to allow the extension than when she had tried to argue for it herself—without Link's help.

As soon as the copy machine finished, he took the original paper from under the lid and took his freshly warm copies off the tray. On his way to walking back to his desk, without looking he reached over and ruffled his hand on top of the crown of Zelda's head, his fingers trailing through her long tresses.

"Good work," he said to her, genuinely meaning it. He froze in his steps when he felt her hand grasp firmly yet gently around his wrist. He turned over his shoulder to look at her. She was looking away from him, but her cheeks were that same old flushed hot pink. She slowly lifted his hand off her head and down to his side, some long strands combing out between his fingers as he did so.

"…Don't do that," she finally said, letting go of his wrist. He just stared blankly at her for a few seconds before sighing a bit and walking back to his desk.

"Okay!" Link spoke loudly to the staff. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zelda walking back to her desk, quietly drinking her soda. "Listen up!"

Everyone turned over to him as he stood between his desk and swivel chair. "We got our extension, but just for tomorrow! You can all thank our Newbie later."

He looked over to Zelda, who just listlessly waved her hand over her shoulder to him as she took her seat. He chuckled inwardly at that.

"Be sure to get everything done by tomorrow!" He said, turning his direction back to the staff. "And I'm not playin' around this time!"

The staff nodded in agreement, quickly going back to business as Link sat down. He glanced over to Zelda, who, unfortunately for her, was looking over at him at the same time. They made eye contact for a second, before Zelda's brow furrowed and she looked away, nervously combing her fingers through her hair. Link just smiled inwardly to himself, putting his glasses back on, and opened a word processing window on his computer.

* * *

The next day, Zelda nonchalantly walked down the stairs leading to the subway station. It was still the middle of the week; she couldn't wait for it to be Friday already so she didn't have to worry about school or _The Stone_ for just a few days. She had actually thought of faking sickness by warming her forehead with her hair dryer like she used to do when she was a kid so she could just take the day off and spend it reading fan fiction online like she wanted, but she somehow resolved herself to get up and get ready for school. Besides, she was going to have to go the printing office to drop the proofs off later in the afternoon. No way was she going to put that off after what happened yesterday.

It really was some sort of miracle that they allowed the extension; especially with how badly delayed they were with last month's issue, she didn't think even with Link's advice they would agree. No matter how much she hated to admit it, she supposed she owed Link some sort of thanks for that.

She turned the corner and made her way for one of the automatic ticket dispensers, getting her subway pass out of her wallet, when she noticed someone standing before it. And given the way he glanced back and forth between the ticket booth monitor and the large map of the subway routes on the wall in front of him, he definitely looked, to say the least, quite lost.

It was Link.

Zelda furrowed her brow at the sight of him. What was he doing? Didn't he have a car? Why was he bothering with the subway?

"…What are you doing?" Zelda asked curiously as she approached him. Link looked over his shoulder to her, crossing his arms as he did so.

"…Trying to figure out how to work this damn subway ticket shit," he replied coolly as he scratched his head. "I don't know how the hell everyone does it all the time."

She cocked an eyebrow at that. "Wait, you've _never_ taken the subway before?"

Link just kind of scoffed at that, looking away.

Zelda studied him for a bit. He almost looked… embarrassed. Wait! Link? Link Avalon? Link Avalon, embarrassed! Oh Goddesses, this was _way_ too good to be true! She thought she would never see the day that Link of all people would look so lost and helpless! Oh Nayru, why wasn't the rest of the staff there to see it!

"The hell are you laughing at?" He snapped at her when he noticed her trying to stifle a small giggle.

"N-nothing!" Zelda held her hands up defensively. "But Goddesses, who doesn't know how to take the subway?"

"…I drive everywhere," he admitted quietly, scratching his waist.

"Then why are you even bothering with something so _pedestrian_ like the subway if you got yourself that nice green sports car?" Zelda chortled mockingly, crossing her arms over her chest. For the past month and a half, it was always Link antagonizing and poking fun at her. Now that it was the other way around, there was no way in the Sacred Realm that she was going to let his chance pass up!

"Because you don't want to ride with me when I drive to school."

She stopped laughing almost instantly at that. What was that just now? Was he being serious? He couldn't be serious! He was joking! Wait, she couldn't tell! Link was just too damn good at poker facing that it was almost impossible to tell the difference between him joking and being serious!

But since the day he told her that they live in the same building, Link's always casually offered to take her to school and drive her home, saying it would be more convenient for her. But of course, she always refused. And of course, she never gave him a straight reason whenever he asked why.

"…Here," Zelda finally pushed him aside with a snort of contempt and pressed a few buttons on the monitor. "The station you want is Castle Town Prep—East Campus. _Obviously_." She pointed at the station stop on the map. "See? And you're charged by the distance, so you're gonna pay three rupees."

She offered her hand out to Link, and he quietly dropped three green rupees into her palm.

"…And there." The machine whirred a bit, beeping as it printed out Link's ticket. She swiped the small stub out of the dispenser and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he muttered quietly, taking it as he slipped wallet into his back pocket.

"Yeah," she shrugged, swiping her subway pass. "…And thank you, by the way… You know, for the tips and all that."

As soon as she was done, the two walked together towards the boarding platform where a crowd of people were waiting for the next train to arrive.

"Don't mention it," Link replied casually. He reached over and ruffled her hair again, but Zelda quickly pushed him away the second his palm made contact with her head.

"Hey!" She glared at him, stopping in her tracks. She patted her hair down, trying to hide the growing blush in her cheeks. "I thought I told you to quit doing that!"

_His touch…_

Link just shrugged her off, smirking cheekily. "Last I checked, _you_ weren't my superior. You still don't have my job like you said you would." He leaned forward so that they were at eye level and added in a taunting voice, "So I don't have to do a thing you say."

Zelda's cheeks burned, but not from embarrassment. Oh, this time it was _far_ from embarrassment.

Insufferable _prick!_

* * *

Some quick anonymous review responses:

**Lauparisi:** Yes, _The Gossip Stone_ is a monthly school newspaper. The one I worked for was as well too, haha. Sorry, I should have made that a bit more clear.

**Anon: **Hahaha, thank you very much for reading and I'm glad you've been enjoying so far! But please don't deprive yourself of sleep on account of me! There are so many other active authors and stories much better than me. I don't deserve that kind of attention D;

Another thing that I should have addressed much earlier on (like before the beginning of the first chatper) is that despite this being set in a high school theme, the typical themes and tropes are (I'd like to say) much more downplayed in this story compared to my other stories that are also set in a school setting, and presumably the many others in the _Zelda _fandom as well, and instead focuses much more on the inner workings of _The Stone_ and Link and Zelda's relationship. I thought I should point that out for anyone who may have been wondering.

That said, thank you all very much for putting up with me! Feedback, especially constructive in nature, is of course greatly appreciated. :]

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	7. Issue VII

Oh my wow, this chapter is so late. -_- I'd try to come up with an excuse to justify myself, but I feel terrible enough making you all wait so long so I won't even bother to ask forgiveness and just let you read instead!

* * *

"Do it over."

Zelda just looked at Link with the blankest, 'You've got to be freakin' _kidding_ me' glare she could manage as Link swung her story draft back at her, the stapled papers almost falling off his fingertips.

"You barely read the introduction," she forced out through gritted teeth. She looked down at him as he sat at his computer, typing with one hand and still holding her paper with the other.

"I read enough to know this is shit," Link scoffed. "Especially coming from you. Do it over."

"Well I _told _you I can't write sports!" She cried out, swiping her article draft from his hands. "I even wrote that on my application!"

"I read your application," he shot back condescendingly as he turned to her, punctuating each syllable as he spoke. He looked back to his screen where he was writing an email. Zelda just growled in response.

"But we're all required to write at least one article of each story type so everyone gains experience and versatility," he added, but in a much calmer voice. "It's not until you're an exec or editor that you can choose what you wanna do. You haven't written any sports stories yet, so better to get it out of the way now so you don't have to do it later, right?"

She didn't say anything at that. Link _did_ have a point; wow, did she hate to admit that. The first two issues she had managed to avoid getting assigned any articles for the sports section, but for the third issue she had been assigned to write the recap of the school's boy's water polo match against South Castle Town Prep. She didn't want to go alone, so she brought Malon along with her; she thought the redhead would have enjoyed watching two teams of guys in nothing but speedos in a pool.

"…Well can you at least tell me what's wrong with it?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You're an _editor_, aren't you?"

"I just did," Link shrugged her off as he got up from his seat and walked towards the file cabinets behind his desk. "It's shit."

Zelda groaned back, following him. She didn't even notice that some of the staff members were taking notice of their argument. "That's not what I meant! I meant how can I improve it!"

"You're writing like a news story." He turned to her as he reached for his key ring that hung off one of his belt loops. He took one of the silver keys and inserted it into the keyhole on one of the file cabinet drawers. "Remember what you said about the feature articles we went over that one time back in September? 'It was too boring,' right? That's your problem."

Zelda looked at him for a second before unraveling her article that she had rolled up and glossing over it quickly. Dammit. He was right again.

"That enough?" He leaned to peer over on her article. When she noticed what he was doing, she pressed the papers against her chest and glared at him in contempt, to which he just snickered and went back to fingering through the various files before him.

"Now fix it." He pulled a tabbed file and flipped quickly through its contents to see if it was what he was looking for. "Newbie."

She swatted his arm with her draft at the name, and he flinched at that. "What!"

"Would you stop calling me that!" She snapped at him. "That isn't my name, you know! It's _Zelda!_"

"I _know_ what your name is," he shrugged.

"Then _use_ it!" She cried out. "You haven't called me by my name_ once_ since I started here!"

It was true; since the beginning of the school year when she joined _The Stone_'s staff, not once in the countless conversations she had with him did he call her "Zelda." The only times he ever spoke her name as far as she could remember was when he was introducing her to other people, like during the first day when she applied, or the first time she went to the printing office with him. Other than that, she was always just "Newbie," or he would just start talking to her without even calling her anything at all.

"Well that's what you are, aren't you?" He glanced to her, taking a file out and closing the metal drawer shut with a 'clank.'

Her cheeks flushed a furious red at that. "That doesn't mean you have to keep calling me that! What if I just kept calling you an insufferable jackass!"

Link just scoffed at her, walking past her as he made his way back to his desk. "As if you don't do that already."

Zelda couldn't help but growl at that. Why was Link so infuriating!

"Goddesses, I _hate_ you!"

Link froze for a second before turning around to face her. Zelda cocked an eyebrow a bit at his expression: it wasn't obvious or anything—Link seemed to be horribly adept at hiding any sort of emotion, but did he look… did he look hurt by that or something? His brow was furrowed, and he looked away from her for a second, almost as if he wasn't able to keep eye contact with her. Zelda kept trying to study him, but he was just as hard as ever to read. He wasn't _actually_ offended by a little irritated outburst, was he?

"…Well whether you hate me or not isn't the point," he finally sighed softly. He scratched the back of his head before turning back around for his desk. "We can't publish your article the way it's written now, and my word is final. Do it over."

He spoke with his normally firm and authoritative voice, though his expression really didn't agree with his tone. Zelda just heaved a deep sigh before going back to her own desk, but she stopped when she noticed that almost the entire staff was all still staring at her and Link from their rather loud argument just moments ago.

She glanced over to Link to see if he noticed as well, but he seemed rather engrossed in whatever he was working on; even more than usual, actually. He looked like when people tried to look busy in an attempt to ignore eye contact or interaction with someone. Not wanting to make any more of a scene than she just already did, Zelda just rolled her eyes and silently walked back to her desk, skimming over her article draft to see how she could improve it, and the rest of the staff took that as their cue to get back to work themselves.

* * *

"Pipit!"

Pipit turned around to see Zelda power walking up to him. He flashed his usual bright smile at her and stopped walking for a moment so she could catch up. "What's up, Zelda? Need something?"

She smiled in reply and slowed her pace until she was next to him, then the two casually walked together towards the front gate of the school. "Um, nothing in particular."

"Nothing, huh?" He chuckled, though he didn't sound suspicious or sarcastic. "Never talked to me outside of work before.

She kind of laughed sheepishly at that herself. "Well… I was wondering if you knew anything about, um… About Link, or anything."

Pipit cocked an eyebrow at that, turning to her. "Link? Like what?"

Zelda kind of kicked herself in her head, already regretting even bothering Pipit, much less asking him about Link. For the rest of the afternoon during business, Link remained rather quiet and kept to himself. Not that he didn't do that already, but it was normal to hear him bark an order or two at least once during the day. Maybe he already fulfilled that quota with Zelda when she asked him to review her draft, but Zelda noticed throughout the rest of the afternoon that he didn't speak even to the other editors, and the only time she ever heard him speak after that was when he announced to everyone that he was going to leave early, a few minutes before everyone else broke for the day.

"I don't know," she shrugged, trying to make the conversation as normal as she could. "You seem kind of close to him… Kind of."

Pipit laughed at bit and shrugged. "Well I guess. We've known each other since the third grade, and our moms work in the same law firm together, so I suppose our families are close too."

"…I see. Do you know if he was he always so…" She paused to try and find the appropriate word. She actually knew of a handful to call him, but she didn't want to insult one of his friends right in front of Pipit. "…Difficult?"

"_Oh_ yeah," Pipit snickered. "The only reason we became friends was because we had the same piano teacher when we were kids, so I guess it was inevitable that we at least talked or something. I never really liked it, though. Piano lessons, I mean; Mom and Pop forced me into it. But Link, Link was a real prodigy or some shit at it."

Zelda couldn't help but smile inwardly. Link, playing the piano? Why did that strike her as so… typical?

"He was a real quiet kid," Pipit glanced at her. "Still is. Always sat in the corner with his nose in a book or pretending to play the piano on his lap or something like that. Never talked to anyone unless he was spoken to first, but even then that didn't really happen often. Kids always seemed intimidated by him or something. I guess if anything, Karane and I are probably the closest he has to friends as far as I know, but even then even I don't really understand him all that much."

She nodded slowly, listening intently to every word. "…So, um… do you know anything about his older brother?"

"Who, Raven?" Pipit raised an eyebrow. Zelda nodded in reply. "Not much. He and Link never seemed like they got along, though. I remember during recitals he was either not there, or when he was he'd do something to make Link mad to ruin the moment for him like criticize his performance or something. You know, typical sibling stuff."

Well actually, she didn't really know of the 'typical sibling stuff,' since she was an only child. Naïve as it was of her to think, she thought those kinds of things between siblings only happened in the movies. Maybe it was because she was always sort of jealous of other kids who had a brother or sister and wanted that kind of sibling bond herself; she always found it a bit lonely around the house since it was always just her growing up, especially when her parents were always off at work.

But as Pipit spoke, she thought of what Raven said to her that one time, when he told her to stay away from Link. She hadn't seen him since that day the month before, but it still puzzled her. What possible reason could Raven have to not want her around Link?

"I'll tell you something about Link, though," Pipit turned to Zelda, his tone noticeably more serious. That piqued her interest, snapping her out of her thoughts. "He has this habit of… how do I say it… I don't know, he tends to get sort of… clingy."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow at that. "…Sorry?"

The brown-haired teen scratched his head. "Um… Like when he and I were kids. I just struck up a conversation with him while we waited for the other kid before us to finish his piano lesson because I was bored. Then a few days after that, I noticed that he'd be following me around school. Or during lessons at our teacher's house when we'd take breaks and I'd go into the kitchen to get a snack, he'd follow me. Not in a creepy stalker way or anything… I didn't mind it. Guess he just needed a friend since he was always alone in class. But the way he followed me, it was like how a cucco chick follows its mom everywhere. Kid stuck to you like glue."

Zelda's eyes widened a bit. She… She did _not_ expect to learn something like _that_ about Link.

"Come to think of it," the boy furrowed his brow in thought. "I haven't seen him so attached to someone since… since you started working at _The Stone!_"

The blonde looked up at him incredulously. "What!"

He just laughed at her. "I mean, I've never seen him pay so much attention to one person before, especially to a new staff member who tells his ass off the first day she walks in."

She just looked down at the concrete as she walked, her eyes looking in his direction as she did so. She didn't quite know whether to take that as a compliment or not.

As they walked through the front gate, Pipit reached into his bag for his car keys. "Maybe he likes you."

"Like hell he does!" She snapped, her head shooting up at him. But the brunet just laughed her off some more, but it quickly died down when he saw someone from the corner of his eye.

"I thought you went home already?" Pipit asked, a slight lopsided smile on his face. Zelda raised an eyebrow at him, then followed the direction of his gaze… Oh, _great._

Link.

Link leaned against the flag pole in front of the gate, his arms casually crossed over his chest. He glanced over to Zelda for a second, who, upon noticing that, grimaced a bit and looked away.

"Newbie here decided to take her sweet time and we missed our usual train," Link shrugged as he pushed himself off and walked towards them.

_That name again._

"When you said you were leaving early," Zelda started with an irritated air in her voice, "I assumed you'd be heading home by yourself."

"Train?" Pipit quipped, quite confused. "I thought you drive."

"Link rides the subway to and from school with me now," Zelda sighed. Link just scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Apparently."

Pipit just shot Zelda a quick, knowing smirk at that. He crossed his arms, his keys jingling as they dangled off his finger. "…Really now?"

It was a quick one, but she took notice of it. She knew what Pipit was trying to say. They had just discussed it, after all.

'_It was like how a cucco chick follows its mom everywhere. Kid stuck to you like glue.'_

"Well I don't wanna keep you from missing another train," Pipit started, clearing his throat to break the rather awkward silence that fell over the three of them. "Link, my mom's still inviting you over for her birthday dinner tomorrow night."

Link nodded slightly. "I'll be over."

The brunet ran a hand through his shaggy hair and pat Link on the shoulder as he walked past him, and Link returned the gesture with a chuckle. Pipit quickly turned to Zelda and smiled at her. "See you on Monday."

She returned the gesture, waving her fingers softly. "Bye, Pipit."

As soon as Pipit was gone, Link turned to Zelda and gestured towards the direction of the train station. "Come on." Zelda just sighed softly and followed Link as he started walking.

"You know, you really didn't have to wait for me," Zelda spoke softly, breaking the silence between them.

He just shrugged some. "Yeah, well… Here we are."

She just rolled her eyes. Link _really_ had to learn to make some sense for once.

As they walked quietly together, she couldn't help but think about what Pipit told her. She found it so hard to believe, that Link used to be some clingy little kid who followed people around like he was a lost puppy. Then again, she never thought of what he would be like otherwise. It was kind of an amusing thought, to be honest. She could picture a young Pipit being followed around by this little snot nosed kid. Who would have thought, the iron fist Link Avalon of all people?

"…What's so funny?" Link asked, noticing that Zelda was giggling a bit to herself. She hadn't even noticed until he spoke, and she quickly cleared her throat and shook her head, telling him it was nothing. Link didn't seem all that convinced, though, but luckily for her he didn't press on the topic.

"What were you and Pipit talking about earlier?" He asked again.

"Nothing, really," Zelda lied. "I just asked him how to improve my water polo story, since _you_ wouldn't help me with that." She spoke the last line in a rather accusing tone, but Link being Link, just brushed it off.

"About that," Link started. "Colin's taking over that story, so you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Zelda cocked her eyebrow. "What?"

"Colin was at the water polo match too," he explained, turning to her. "He seems to be doing better with sports and features articles than straight news or opinion pieces, so I gave him the story before I left the office."

Zelda had mixed feelings about it. She was glad that she didn't have to put up with the story anymore; sports _really_ weren't her thing. But at the same time, the fact that he just gave the story to someone else… That kind of hurt, to be honest. She knew that Colin, timid as he was, was a big sports fan and there was no doubt that he wouldn't be able to handle it, but by giving it to him and not even letting her revise it… Did that mean he didn't think she could do it?

"Okay…" She drew out. "But what am I supposed to do for my sports assignment? We all have to do one of everything, right?"

"Don't worry about that," he replied. "You're covering the recap for the Homecoming football match next Friday."

"_What!_"

Link looked over his shoulder as he started walking down the stairs to the subway station where Zelda froze in her tracks and stared at him with her brow furrowed.

This was one of his jokes again, right! He was kidding again! He was critical enough with just a regular water polo match, and admittedly it was one of the less popular sports the school participated in. What kind of sick pleasure did he derive from assigning her to cover the most important football game of the school year!

"Are you _kidding!_" She cried out.

"Did I stutter?"

"You _hated_ my first article!" She sighed, walking down the stairs past him. Link silently followed suit. "What the hell makes you think I could write for the Homecoming game!"

"_Relax_," he said, drawing out the last syllable. "I'm having Colin go with you to the match. He and Darunia will help you out throughout the week with learning how to write better too." Darunia was the editor in charge of the sports section.

She slowed down a bit at that; slow enough that Link walked past her, and towards the turnstiles to scan his new subway pass. That allayed her anxiety about the entire ordeal some. If anything, it showed that he at least cared somewhat about her improving her writing, if only from a non-personal, strictly business perspective.

**…**

The subway, as expected for evening rush hour, was a bit too crowded for comfort. More like, so crowded it would make a fire marshal squirm. Link and Zelda were usually rather good at avoiding the particularly bad times of the afternoon commute, but as Link said, they had missed their usual, less crowded train.

And unfortunately for Zelda, because there were so many people in the subway car, they were pressed against each other just a _little_ bit too closely for comfort. She barely had enough room to move around the way she was pressed against the window, and behind her was Link, holding onto a hanging grip.

"…Could you please step back a little?" Zelda asked, trying to look over her shoulder to him. He looked down at her and tried to wiggle around, but to no avail.

"Tell that to everyone else in here," he replied quietly, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

She just sighed softly, watching the darkness in the tunnel they were in whisk by them until Link spoke up again.

"The Homecoming dance is next Saturday," he said.

"So it is," she replied listlessly.

"Are you going?"

She turned her head to him, though she couldn't actually make eye contact. "No."

"What, no one asked you out?"

"For your information," she snapped back quickly. "I've been asked a handful of times! I just turned them all down."

He chuckled softly. "And why is that?"

"I never really liked the dances," she shrugged. She attended the Homecomings her freshman and sophomore years, and although she had fun times, they weren't necessarily times she considered particularly memorable. She just remembered waiting in ridiculously long lines-in heels, of all footwear, for the backdrop pictures and not being able to dance because the deejays were playing music that wasn't exactly appropriate for dancing. If anything, she wouldn't mind going through it for her senior prom, if only because it was a bit of a social obligation to do so.

"How about you?" She asked. "Are you going?"

"Nope," he shrugged. "Couldn't find someone I wanted to go with."

It wasn't really a scoff, but she kind of grunted at that. "Really? Thought you of all people would have dozens of girls wanting you to ask them out."

"Is that a compliment?"

She paused for a second. Okay, maybe that came out completely the wrong way! But she did have to admit, even for her, that Link _was_ quite attractive. The personality could definitely use some adjustment, though… Okay, his personality had to go _completely_. But as far as looks went, he was definitely better than most of the guys around campus. But that's just platonically speaking of course! People can compliment others on their looks and have it not mean anything!

"…Take it however you want," she shrugged, trying to dodge the question and make it so that he couldn't press on the matter further and make it even more complicated for her. "Either way, shouldn't seniors live up their last year in high school?"

Link snorted, a wry smile on his lips. "I've never been the celebrating type."

"Pretty depressing," she said. "Even for you."

Now that, what came out of Link's mouth, was definitely a scoff. "Whatever."

They fell into silence yet again, save for the rumbling of the subway train and the occasional cough from one of the passengers. Zelda struggled to lift her wrist in what little wiggle room she had to check her watch. Goddesses, when were they going to arrive at the station?

"…Not that it really matters," Link started, muttering a bit. "But there was someone I was thinking of asking, actually."

Zelda raised an eyebrow at that. Boy, was he talkative all of a sudden, especially after how quiet he was during the last half of business. "Oh?"

He nodded a bit. "Yeah. No point bothering with it, though."

Okay, she'd bite. "Why's that?"

"…You know," he shrugged. "She didn't seem interested."

Zelda stayed quiet for a second at that, furrowing her brow. Wait, he wasn't… No, he couldn't be talk about… There was no way!

…Not wanting to discuss it anymore, she looked away into the window again and straightened her back more so that she wasn't pressing against him as much. But she felt eyes watching her, boring into the back of her head. Sure enough, she looked up a bit, and saw Link staring at her reflection in the window. W-what are you staring at? Look away! …Okay, he wasn't going to look away. Then _you_ look away, Zelda! What are you doing making eye contact!

Zelda looked down at what little ground she could see in front of her, willing herself to pry her eyes from the window. What was up with Link all of a sudden! He was acting more irrational than usual! Then she remembered her conversation with Pipit earlier.

"_Maybe he likes you."_

But… But that was ridiculous! To like someone, don't you have to… well, _like_ them? And since the very first day, Link's been nothing but condescending, arrogant, self-serving, and… well, if it came down to naming just _one_ thing that he gave her credit for, it was promoting her to _The Stone_'s business coordinator the month before; and that was, if anything, a strictly professional decision. They had so little in common. In fact, scratch that; she couldn't think of _one thing_ they had in common. They lived in the same building, she supposed, but that was hardly the basis for a relationship. Link… he was just one giant ball of emotional instability as far as she was concerned.

And yet she looked up for a split second again, and there Link was, still making eye contact with her through their reflections.

* * *

"Sorry again about this whole thing, Zelda!"

Zelda looked over her shoulder to Colin, who smiled at her sheepishly as they walked up the narrow bleachers together. She could barely make out what he said amidst all the screaming and cheering from the crowd and cheerleaders and the school's marching band playing upbeat arrangements of popular songs from the radio. It was the day of the Homecoming football match against North Castle Town Prep, and school spirit for both teams was at its highest. The varsity football teams for the Castle Town Prep campuses were among the most competitive and toughest teams to beat in the greater Castle Town Region. If only because they were all wealthy private schools, so they could afford to allocate more funding to departments like sports, music and creative arts—programs that would have been cut if the case were otherwise.

"I told you!" Zelda laughed, almost yelling at Colin so he could hear her, even if they were only steps behind each other. "It's fine! I'm actually really glad you're here since you definitely know a lot more about sports than I do!"

Spotting enough space in the middle of a row to fit both of them, they sidled through the narrow passage, trying to get their as fast as they could to avoid blocking the view from people already seated. They were in the middle of their row, a few from the bottom, so it was the perfect vantage point to watch the match from. Students from _The Stone_ and the school's yearbook, _The Pictobox_, Darunia being among them, flashed their professional cameras from the sidelines while news reporters from the local TV station interviewed the coaches and some of the school's administrative figures.

"You know," Zelda leaned forward to Colin, trying to make some small talk while they waited for the match to begin. She had been working alongside Colin and Darunia throughout the week, reviewing old issues for their sports articles. Even if she had been working with the freshman the whole week, he still didn't have much to say outside of business. He really was quite the shy kid. "This is the first time I've ever been to one of our football games."

"Really?" He asked. He offered her his paper bowl of nachos, but she politely declined. "I've been going ever since the season started. Don't tell Darunia, but I really hope I can be sports editor when I'm a senior."

She smiled at that. "I'm sure you can do it! You're better at writing sports than I could ever be!"

"Thank you!" He laughed, nodding his head deeply. "You're a great writer too! I bet you'll be next year's editor-in-chief, without a doubt!"

She raised her eyebrows, but she just laughed it off a bit. "Well, you know that's Link's decision. I don't think he thinks I'm fit for any editorship right now."

Colin kind of frowned in reply. "Well I don't think it'd be fair if he didn't choose you! If you don't get any of the editor positions next year, you should confront him!" He took a tortilla chip drenched in melted cheese and tried to take a bite from it as cleanly as he could manage. "You're more fit for the job than anyone!"

"…Thanks, Colin," she smiled warmly at him before turning her attention back to the field where the color guard squad was performing. It was nice that at least someone thought of her that highly. Even if Colin may have been just gushing, they were words that she honestly felt like she needed to hear. If anything, she knew of one particular ill-tempered fourth year editor-in-chief who would never praise her in such a way.

"…S-sorry if this is a bit of a personal question," Colin started again. Zelda glanced over to him, raising an eyebrow. "But is there… anything going on between you and Link?"

Her brow shot up at that, and she couldn't help but suppress a laugh. Even then, she fought hard to fight off a growing blush in her cheeks. Luckily for her, the dusk sky masked it some. "M-me and _Link! _Oh Colin, please! Why would you think that!"

"…W-well it's just that he and you have been spending all this time together since the beginning of the year," he shrugged, kind of embarrassed that he asked the question at all. "It… It's kind of cute…"

Zelda almost choked. Oh Colin, if you only knew how _cute_ being harassed by him on a daily basis really was! "There's nothing between us going on, Colin! I can promise you that!"

He just smiled quietly, nodding as he did so. He didn't want to press the matter, but as Zelda looked back to the field and checked her watch to see how much time until the match started, he could see the bright red in her cheeks flushing deeper.

* * *

The next evening, Zelda casually walked down the sidewalk, approaching the entrance to her apartment complex. She had just come back from Malon's house, helping her put her dress on and do her make-up for the Homecoming dance that was taking place that night. She wouldn't admit it, but when it came to applying make-up and doing hair, Malon was almost completely inept. It was one of the terrible ironies of their friendship, that Zelda—the one who almost never wore make-up or dolled herself up, was more knowledgeable with cosmetics than Malon—who very might as well have been a redheaded Agitha doll. Malon's date, a guy in their class named Sheik, offered to drive Zelda home on the way to the hotel where the dance was going to held, but she didn't want to impose and just took the train home instead.

She wondered if her parents had checked the mail yet as the automatic sliding doors to the building opened for her. Deciding to check just to make sure, she walked over to the mail room, greeting some of the other tenants as she walked past them. As she entered, she saw someone down the hall unlocking the small hatch to his mailbox.

Link.

They made eye contact for a second, Zelda standing in the doorway and Link still with his key in the lock. It was the first time they've seen each other around the complex since she found out he lived in the fifth floor of her building a little over a month ago. Zelda just cursed her luck; and she had been doing so well at avoiding him, too!

Zelda, of course, was the first to break eye contact. She just silently walked down the long, narrow room past Link towards her apartment's mailbox and grabbed her key ring out of her bag.

"You just come home?" Link asked, reaching into the deep mailbox for the envelopes inside.

"…Yeah," she replied after pausing, debating whether to talk to him or not. Come on, quit it with the small talk! It wasn't going to get either of you anywhere!

"Homecoming is tonight," he said, flipping through his mail: solicitations from lesser known universities and liberal arts colleges trying to get him to apply to their schools.

"So it is," she shrugged, opening her mailbox and digging for its contents. Bills, store sale ads, grocery coupons…

"Still hard to believe you're not going."

"I already told you why," she replied, trying to mask her growing irritation. "Besides, it's not like I can go right now even if I wanted to. Ticket sales ended yesterday."

Link hummed softly, closing his mailbox and locking it. He walked over to her, but still kept his distance. "How was the game last night?"

Zelda smiled a bit at that. "It was… It was fun."

She had to be honest, she really wasn't expecting to have very much fun at the football game. Colin definitely enjoyed himself, though. She still felt a little bad that every now and then, she had to poke him and ask, 'What just happened?' 'Is the play good?' 'How many points do we get when he kicks the ball into that goal post thing?' Colin, being Colin and all, was more than understanding and took his time to explain the game to her—while having to pause mid-sentence to get up and cheer every now and then, of course. They ended up winning against North Castle Town Prep 48-42 in the last few seconds.

"Good," he nodded. "So what are you doing tonight while everyone else is at the dance?"

Zelda shrugged. "Dunno. Homework, eat, sleep, I guess. Dad's out with his drinking buddies and my mom's working overtime tonight." She tried to take her time checking through all the mail so that by the time the conversation would end—and hopefully it'd be soon, she thought, he'd decide to leave so she could go back to her apartment alone and in peace. "…Yeah, I'll probably eat when I get home."

"…You wanna come over?"

She looked at him at that. He leaned his left shoulder against the wall of mailboxes, his hand in his pocket while his right held his mail. He shouldered a plastic bag as well, tucked under his arm. Same old Link, same old unreadable expression.

"I'm fine," she said, stuttering a bit. "You can go back to your apartment now… I-I'm still looking through the mail and I don't want to hold you up."

"I'm not in a rush," he shook his head. "We're both alone tonight. And you said you're hungry, right?" He shrugged his right shoulder towards her. "I bought some food at the convenience store across the street."

"Really," she added hurriedly, furrowing her brow and filing through the envelopes in her hand faster. "I don't want to be a bother, and I have food at home!"

"I insist."

"I appreciate the thought, but please! I can take care of myself!"

"Then _I'll_ come over."

"_No!_" Her head snapped up to him at his offer. Goddesses, why was he so insistent!

"…Did you write the Homecoming article?" Link finally asked calmly.

"…No, I didn't," she sighed.

"Then come over and write it at my place," he said. "I'm going to have to look over it anyway, you know."

Zelda just stared at him hard, before finally heaving a deep sigh. She closed her mailbox and quickly turned the key to lock it. "Fine."

* * *

Link's apartment was… surprisingly clean.

Not that Zelda expected it to have dirty clothes and papers everywhere, but the fact that it was so sparsely furnished. Well, Link was only a teenager, so he couldn't have so many possessions. He just had the typical living room set, flat screen TV—pretty much the bare minimum that pre-furnished apartments come with. Something that particularly caught her eye, though, was the electric keyboard and a stack of sheet music that was tucked under the lower tier of the coffee table across the room. After what Pipit told her, she kind of expected as much.

She sat at his dining table with her laptop in front of her; she always made it a bit of a habit of bringing it along with her when she usually went out just in case she would ever need it. The article was actually already a third done, and luckily for her, Link didn't bother her all that much since they came in; he was in the kitchen cooking whatever it was he said he bought from the store.

"I hope you don't mind breakfast for dinner," Link said as he came out of the kitchen holding a plate of steaming food. Zelda looked up at him and slowly pushed her laptop aside, and he placed the plate in front of her. A spinach and ham omelet with garlic fried rice.

"No, I don't…" She eyed the food for a second, picking up the fork. It _looked _edible. She cut a piece of the omelet with her fork and tentatively bit into it… Hey, it actually wasn't all that bad! In fact, it was probably better than something she could make herself! Who knew that Link of all people knew how to cook something?

'It's good," she said softly, her mouth half filled with food. Link didn't say anything; he just nodded softly as he sat across from her at the table. She looked over to him; he took the TV remote and turned the TV on, flipping through the channels for the news. "You're not gonna eat?"

"I'm not hungry," he said, glancing to her. "The food I bought at the market was for breakfast tomorrow. That's why the omelet and rice."

She looked down at the food, suddenly feeling a bit guilty for eating what was supposed to be his breakfast. "Oh… Sorry."

But he shook his head, telling her it was fine. "I bought enough to make something for myself in the morning, so don't worry."

She nodded slowly, continuing eating quietly. The room was awkwardly silent as she ate, with the only sound coming from the news reporters on the TV. She'd look up and watch, though not really paying attention to what they were talking about. They were going on about police run-ins with various crimes throughout the city and how a water main busted somewhere in West Castle Town and half the outer suburbs were without water for a good half of the afternoon; tragic things that local news only ever seemed to discuss.

But then she felt Link's eyes watching her. She glanced over to him quickly, trying to make it as surreptitious as she could. Sure enough, there he was watching her, his elbow on the table and his fist propping his cheek up. Her cheeks flared at that, and she immediately looked down and chewed faster. Idiot! What was the point of turning on the TV if you weren't even watching it! We all know you're a rich kid, but quit wasting electricity!

"…I'm going to wash up real quick, if you don't mind," Link finally spoke, getting up from his seat. "You'll be fine by yourself for a bit, right?"

"I'm not a kid," Zelda snapped back quickly. "I don't need a babysitter."

He just snorted at that, waving her off as he walked towards his bedroom. "You can leave the plate by the sink when you're done. I'll take care of it tonight."

**…**

About twenty minutes later, Zelda had finished her food and was back to working on her article draft. She had to admit that Link knew how to cook, if only just how to make an omelet and pan fry some rice. If only his personality complemented his more redeeming qualities, like his cooking ability and proficiency at writing and editing.

…And being rather good looking. But that last one was _purely_ in platonic terms, of course.

She heard Link's bedroom door open, and out came Link in a plain white t-shirt and black basketball shorts. Around his neck was his towel, using one of the ends to dry off his still damp, shaggy dirty blonde hair.

"Still working on the draft?" He asked casually, walking over to the table. He took the remote in his free hand and, aiming it at the TV, lowered the volume some.

"Yeah," she replied, typing away. "I'm a little more than half done. I'll probably finish tonight and give it to you to look over on Monday."

"Well I'm right here," he turned to her, setting the remote down. He grabbed his glasses case on the other side of the table and opened it, reaching for his frames and slipping them on. "I can just look over it now."

"I just said I'm not done."

"Would it kill you to just let me look?"

She withdrew her hands from the keyboard, slouching in her seat. If she had to take a shot of Great Fairy's Tears for every time Link said something snarky…

"Better to have me read the first half over just in case something's wrong so you don't end up making mistakes throughout the whole thing anyway, right?" He stood behind her and peered down at the word processing document on the screen, leaning over to scroll down and highlight the text every now and then to make sure he didn't lose his place within the article.

"Mm…" He nodded in approval. "Looks good so far. Much better than your water polo draft, at least."

Zelda glanced over to him, nodding her head also just ever so slightly. "Thank you."

"The only thing I suggest for now is that wording here is kind of awkward," he scrolled up with the up arrow key on the keyboard and pointed near the beginning of the third paragraph. She followed the direction of his index finger and skimmed the text quickly.

"You're still switching between formal and informal voice," he told her. "Technically, sports can be written formally too, but you started off in an informal tone. Just identify which one you want to use and stick with it throughout the article."

"Okay…" She nodded again. At least he was being much more helpful with this article compared to the last. She supposed he really wasn't editor-in-chief for nothing, and wasn't just riding on his older brother's coattails.

"…Try this." He stood behind her and leaned forward. He brought the laptop closer to the edge of the table so he could reach it, With both arms on either side of Zelda, he highlighted the first few sentences he pointed at, deleted them, and started typing furiously away.

The close contact made Zelda's back stiffen considerably. She could feel the steam still evaporating off his freshly out of the shower skin on his arms, and the fabrics of his shirt and the dampness of his towel touched the back of her neck, tickling her skin. It was probably because he just got out of the shower… but wow, he smelled good. What was that body wash?

"Sounds better, right?" He asked, pulling away from the laptop and standing back up straight. Zelda snapped out of her thoughts and read over what he typed out. Yeah, that was much better. She understood more clearly what he just explained to her.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly. She rubbed her cheek to try and make the blush go away. "It does."

"Course it does," he grunted. "I wrote it, didn't I?" He stretched out his arms, preparing to head over to the kitchen to wash Zelda's dishes. Before he did so, though, he reached over and ruffled up the crown of Zelda's head, his long fingers gently entangling them in her soft hair.

But Zelda didn't complain this time. She just sat quietly, watching Link walk over to the kitchen as she patted down and straightened out her hair. Goddesses, why did he always have to do that? What was his problem? He could switch between infuriating to tolerable to sending her into a blushing tizzy at the drop of a hat… His touch was always warm. Did his hands ever go cold?

"I…" She started slowly, still rubbing her cheek. Link didn't turn around, though; he just strolled into the open doorframe to the kitchen, and sure enough she heard the running water from the sink. "I think I should go home now."

That's when the water stopped. He poked his head out of the doorframe, eyebrow raised, drying his wet hands with the towel around his neck. "You're going _now?_"

"Y-yeah," she nodded. She quickly pressed the keyboard command to save her document, then hurriedly closed her laptop and stuffed it into her bag. She had stayed long enough; to be honest, she didn't even expect accepting his offer long enough! Come on, Zelda. Just try to stay cool. And don't let him touch you anymore!

"Why don't you just stay long enough to finish the article?" He asked casually, leaning against the oak doorframe. "You can print it out here and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"It's fine!" She replied hurriedly. "I-I appreciate the thought, but I've troubled you enough tonight!"

He just shrugged. "You've never troubled me once."

She turned to him for a second. What did he mean by that?

"…Either way," she said slowly. "I've been here longer than I anticipated… Thanks for the food, by the way."

But he wasn't convinced. He watched her quietly as she struggled to slip her shoes on as fast as she could before he spoke. "Hey."

She didn't respond. She just kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to make any more eye contact. Come on, stupid feet! Get in!

"Hey!" He called again. "_Zelda!_"

She froze at that. He… he _never_ called her by her first name. She's heard him say it before… but never when he was talking directly to her.

Link just sighed after a short pause, standing up straight. "Why are you trying to avoid me all of a sudden?"

"I-I'm not!" She shook her head, finally shimmying her other shoe on. Crap! Don't let him get the better of you!

"Don't lie to me," he snapped back, but in a completely calm voice. He started walking towards her. "You try to avoid being alone with me every time I touch you or something. Don't try to tell me that isn't true."

Her cheeks flared up at that. No! Stop talking! You don't know what you're saying!

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she shook her head. Link wouldn't have any of it, though. He just pressed a hand against the wall next to Zelda, trapping her in front of him.

"I think you do." He said, looking down at her. Her eyes widened up at him, brow tightly knit. "And I'm never wrong."

Zelda just looked at the ground, trying miserably not to make eye contact. Let go! Get out of the way!

"Are you falling in love with me?"

"_Hell no!_"

Zelda almost had to restrain herself from slapping him straight across the face for that, but he just grunted softly at her exclamation. What the hell kind of question was that! That's not something you ask people so casually! Where did this guy learn his social skills!

Without another word, Link lowered his arm and walked back over to the dining table, taking his glasses off as he did so. He reached for the case and slipped his glasses back in.

"Do you really hate me then?"

Her brow shot up at that. She was more than puzzled for a second, but then she remembered what she yelled at him that Friday the week before.

"_Goddesses, I _hate_ you!"_

Wait… Was _that_ what he was so worked up about? He had been acting a little stranger the past week… Don't tell her that he actually took it seriously! Goddesses, did Link offend easily or what!

"…No," she shook her head, murmuring softly. "I don't hate you."

But if it wasn't hate, because she really didn't hate him, no matter how goddamn irritating he got—and did he get irritating… And it definitely wasn't love! No way in the Sacred Realm was it anything remotely like love! …But then what was it? Where did he stand with her? …And where did she stand with him? If Pipit really was telling the truth, he was just following her around like he did to him when they were kids. But why?

"…I have to go," Zelda finally spoke again, turning for the door. Luckily for her, Link didn't try to stop her again. She opened the door, but she gasped and froze when she saw someone on the other side.

Raven.

He stared at her for a second, rather surprised by the fact that the door opened without him having to ring the doorbell. But when it hit him that it was Zelda he was staring at, he just glared at her, knitting his brow.

Nayru, what was up with that face? What could Zelda have possibly done to offend him? Breaking the awkward eye contact, Zelda quietly slipped through the door, past Raven, and hurriedly made her way down the hall for the elevator.

Raven just watched her with contempt, until she turned the corner and was out of sight.

"…What was _she_ doing here?" Raven asked in a snarky tone, walking into the apartment.

"I should be asking you that right now," Link brushed him off as he walked back into the kitchen. He heard Raven slipping his shoes off, and he cocked an eyebrow at him. "Who said you could come in?"

"I'm your brother," Raven scoffed. "You'd let her in but not me?"

Link just turned the faucet on at the sink, grabbing the sponge and squirting some dish soap onto it. "Why are you here?"

"I want you to stay away from that girl," the older Avalon snapped firmly, stepping into the kitchen. He watched his younger brother wash the plate in his hands; it looked like if Link pressed into it any harder he'd punch a hole right through it.

But Link turned the water off at that and faced his older brother, glaring him down. "_Why?_"

Raven just crossed his arms, returning Link's glare with the same bitter intensity.

* * *

The following Monday, Zelda walked exited the elevator as it stopped at the apartment lobby. She really didn't want to go to school. It was the Monday back following Homecoming, and she knew all she'd be hearing in class was how great it was and the gossip concerning everyone who went. The music the deejay played sucked. So and so spent the entire night crying in the bathroom. Some couple got caught actually having sex in the middle of the dance floor, where all the dirtiest dancing happened.

"You're late."

She looked up, and there Link was, sitting in the small lounge area with his book bag at his feet. She raised an eyebrow at him as he got up and walked towards her, and they exited the building together.

"I never asked you to wait up for me," she said casually. "And I still don't know why you're bothering with the subway anymore. It's a waste if you're just letting your car collect dust in the parking garage."

"I still drive it around," he replied with a yawn. "It's just the subway I take to school and home."

Zelda grunted softly, but didn't say anything else on the matter. She already knew where it'd be going if she tried.

"…You've been ignoring me again," Link spoke again after a short silence. They walked down the stairs leading into the subway station.

"W-what do you mean?"

"You never returned any of my calls or texts yesterday."

She scratched her head at that, chuckling nervously. "O-oh, have you? I had my phone off all day yesterday because I have a big chemistry test today," she lied, "So I wanted to focus on studying."

Link just glanced at her as she sped up a bit towards the electronic ticket booths and sighed. "You're a piss-poor liar, you know that?"

She stayed quiet, not even bothering to dignify that with a response. Don't accuse people of things they _clearly_ did!

But then it reminded her of that Saturday night at Link's apartment, and how she ran into Raven just as she was leaving. What was he doing there? Weren't he and Link on bad terms? Did he go into the apartment? She was in such a hurry to leave that she was gone before she even got to see.

"…By the way," Link said again as Zelda stood at the machine in front of her, scanning her subway pass.

"Yeah?" She asked. Right then, she felt Link press himself against her backside, she stiffened at that, her eyes going wide.

"I got your email with the draft yesterday morning," he told her in a low voice in her ear. He had to bend down a bit since he was quite taller, but there he was, his cheek almost touching hers.

"…D-did you?" She asked as she ripped her ticket stub from the small printer, trying to remain as composed as she could. Link already noticed that she got more than visibly nervous whenever he was too close; she just had to remain as stoic as she could so that he wouldn't get any weird ideas. Yeah, that was it! Zelda, you've been playing into his hand the whole time by reacting! Just _don't _react! …But he was _way_ too close! People were starting to stare! What kind of pleasure did he derive from doing such things to her! Was it some sort of therapy for him, playing around with her!

"Yeah," he whispered.

"I… I-I see… Was it okay?" Goddesses, she could almost feel his lips against her skin! Too close, too close, _too close!_

He breathed softly. "It sucked."

Her eyes widened at that, and she felt Link withdraw from her. He gently pushed her aside and scanned his subway pass into the machine. What… what did he say!

"I… I'm sorry?" She glared at him, her face turning a furious crimson color.

"Did you not take my suggestions to heart or something?" He asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "You started switching tones again in the half you wrote when you left. I told you to finish it at my place so you wouldn't run into that problem again."

_This guy!_ After all that just then! Making it sound like he actually had something to say! N-n-not that she was expecting something else! He was just dicking around with her again! And she _let _him!

"I want it redone by the time we meet for business after school," he said to her. With that, he casually stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked towards the turnstiles with the growing crowd of people waiting for the next train.

"Cut the crap!" She cried out, chasing after him, stomping her feet as she did so. "You're joking around with me again!"

"Yeah," he scoffed. "I'm joking myself into a seizure right now."

_Oh. My. Goddesses!_

"No!" She snapped, shoving him from behind. All that got her was him barely staggering forward, what with him being heavier. "No, I take back what I said! I hate you! I _hate_ you!"

She didn't care that she was starting to make a bit of a scene; people around them were starting to watch and make comments to each other in hushed tones. Link just stared down at her for a bit as she fumed angrily. But after a moment, he just chuckled and turned away, looking forward.

"_Right_," he snickered.

God _dammit!_

* * *

This was originally intended to be two separate chapters, but like I said, I feel terrible for making everyone wait so long, I made it so that it's one long chapter. For a heads up for what's to come, I'd say this chapter is a bit of a turning point, or maybe I should say a change of pace in the direction the plot will be going in. Also, Raven will play a much bigger role from here on, as you all probably anticipated from his appearance.

I should also take the time to say that I have a new project coming up. It's not going to be a _Zelda_ story, though, but hopefully if you're in the fandom (I don't want to say just yet because it's a surprise!) you'll enjoy it. I don't know if that and this story will be ongoing in tandem or if I'm going to wait until this story is completed, but rest assured knowing that this story will have an actual ending!

Finals are almost over, so once my last two are taken care of I will definitely try to be a little more frequent with the updates. Until then, feedback, especially those that are constructive, are greatly appreciated!

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	8. Issue VIII

UIUIWHWGOIJOIV I'm so late. I can't even begin to express how sorry I am.

* * *

"We finished!"

Saria heaved a heavy yet high-pitched sigh as she slammed the copy of her final page proof on top of the other editors' in front of Zelda. Zelda couldn't help but fight a little giggle at the short girl, who shifted all her weight forward onto her arm against the desktop.

"Thanks, Saria," Zelda laughed a bit, taking the paper and turning it around so that it was right-side up with the other proofs, and aligned them with each other into one neat stack. Saria just gave her a tired thumbs up and a weak half smile before walking back to her desk and plopping down into her chair.

Somehow, they had managed to meet their deadline for the fourth issue of _The Stone_. Instead of their usual three and a half weeks to finish an issue, they had all but two following their week-long autumn break during the third week of the past month. They had to complete it so quickly to allow the printing office to publish it the week before all schools in the city dismissed for winter break. They had no choice but to finish on time since the printing office would be swamped with the other school newspaper staff sending off their winter issues for printing all at once. If they didn't meet this deadline, they would have no issue for December. And that was something Link couldn't allow.

Zelda got up from her desk and walked over to Link, who was by the coffee maker next to the fridge and microwave, brewing himself a cup of coffee.

"All the pages are here," Zelda said to him, handing him the stack of broadsheets. Link looked over to her, then down to the papers in her hands.

"Are they all spellchecked and everything?" He asked, turning back to the coffee maker and grabbing the pot as soon as it was finished. He took one of the styrofoam cups stacked next to the machine and poured himself some of the black liquid.

"Three times over," she replied. "Colin and Karane helped."

"Good," he nodded. He grabbed some creamer from the fridge and shook the bottle. "Just leave them on my desk and I'll look over them one more time. We can go to the publishers' office after we break."

"Okay, everyone!" Midna announced in a sing-song tone. Link and Zelda turned to her; she stood in front of her desk, and in her hand she held by the bill an upside down baseball hat.

"To celebrate actually finishing an issue on schedule, it's time to choose Secret Nohansens for next Friday's Triforce Remembrance Day party!" She grinned, tossing the small folded papers inside the baseball hat. She randomly took a note from the hat and carelessly chucked it at Saria's head, who paid no attention to it. The paper bounced off her soft hair and fell between the keys of her keyboard.

Triforce Remembrance Day was a Hylian holiday celebrated on the 25th of December. It commemorated the event described in the Hylian religion that after the three Goddesses created the world and left for the Sacred Realm, they left behind in their wake the Triforce, a symbol of physical power, inner courage and mental wisdom. According to legend, anyone who would lay their hands on the Triforce would gain anything his or her heart desired.

Saint Nohansen was a legendary Hylian saint who was said to leave gifts for poor children overnight to wake up to every December 25th, as a symbol of hope that they would one day attain the Triforce for themselves. Such gift giving permeated into even secular Hylian culture, and every year Triforce Remembrance Day was celebrated by the tradition. In modern times, children would write on slips of paper what kind of toys they wanted if they ever touched the Triforce, and Saint Nohansen would deliver that gift overnight for them to wake up to on the 25th. Secret Nohansen was a game in the same vein, usually played amongst coworkers, classmates or friends: a group of people would write their names on individual slips of papers and would randomly draw names out; they would then have to find whomever they got a gift, and would reveal themselves to each other on Triforce Remembrance Day morning.

Link and Zelda walked back to his desk, Link mixing the deku nut creamer into his coffee with a small stirrer as they did so. Midna offered them the hat to pull their pieces of paper from, and they did so one at a time before the Twili pranced off to the rest of the exhausted staff.

"Hey," Pipit turned to them. Behind him was Karane, from when she and he had been talking moments ago. Zelda and Link glanced over to the two, Link sitting down as he did so. "Who'd you guys get?"

Zelda unfolded the torn piece of paper with one hand and glanced at the name written in red ink. The name on the paper: Midna.

What kind of things did she like? Clothes? What sizes did she wear? Zelda admittedly wasn't the closest with her; maybe she could ask some of the editors to get some insight into something she'd want.

"Midna," Zelda replied in a bit of a hushed tone so that only the three seniors could hear her.

Pipit and Karane's brows shot up at that, rather confused expressions on their faces as their eyes focused on the note in Zelda's hand. They looked back at their respective slips of paper. "…Me too."

"_What?_" Link almost scoffed in disbelief. He put his cup of coffee down and took the note from Zelda's hand to compare it to his. Sure enough, Link had gotten Midna as well. He just rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking over at the snickering Twili across the room.

"Midna!" He barked. Everyone looked up at that, either turning to the blond or the pale-skinned girl. "Did you put your fucking name on all these slips?"

Darunia, who was sitting with some of the underclassmen near where Midna was standing in front of the white board, just swiped the hat from her. "Gimme that! Dumbass!"

Midna just laughed wildly, as if she had just pulled a prank to end all pranks. Darunia got up from his stool and walked to the other side of the room towards the trash can to dump the remaining folded papers in the hat, but not before stopping to poke a thick index finger against the girl's head in annoyance.

"_I'll_ make them," Karane announced with a sigh. She grabbed the copy of last month's issue of _The Stone_ for the staff listing on the editorial page and a marker in front of Pipit's computer. "Come on, Pip, help me out with these."

The boy couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of the class, who were all crumpling up their notes and pelting Midna with them, who just couldn't seem to stop laughing. He reached into the drawer of his desk for a few sheets of scratch paper and followed Karane to the empty desk against the wall next to the sofa in the lounge area. "Righty-o."

"They seem close," Zelda smiled to herself as they left, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"Their parents sent them to the same daycare when they were kids," Link replied. Zelda turned to him, and watched him put his glasses on with one hand while he held his cup to his lips with the other. He blew softly into the steaming liquid and tentatively took a sip so as to not burn his tongue. "Pipit's always had a bit of a thing for her. Don't know why he doesn't just go for it."

Zelda glanced back to Pipit and Karane, and watched him laugh at her as she swatted his arm.

"You wrote your name twice!" She scolded. "Don't turn into Midna!"

Their antics made Zelda giggle. They did have great chemistry with each other, now that Link brought it up. She had always tried to find something like that with all her relationships, even though they've generally been pretty few and far between. Couples who could joke around with each other like that, she thought, were the best kind.

"Didn't hear that from me, of course," Link shrugged, pausing in between sips. "So don't go telling Karane or anything. She doesn't know, and I know how close you are with her."

"I wasn't going to," Zelda replied quickly, cheeks slightly turning red at that. Well that eliminated any possibility of playing matchmaker like she'd actually had been planning to. Link caught sight of her subtle blush and chuckled, which did nothing to impress the blonde.

"…But why don't you encourage him to ask her out or something?" She asked him after a short pause between them.

Link couldn't help but snort a bit at that. He pick up the stack of proofs Zelda put on his desk earlier to look over. "Tried to. He's way too cucco shit to ask."

She just laughed softly, glancing back to Pipit and Karane, who were copying down everyone's names onto small strips of paper. In her head she pictured Pipit all flustered in the face and a nervous wreck, trying to confess his feelings to Karane, who would just have the most confused expression. It was quite an amusing thought. But even then, she supposed she could understand why Pipit would be too hesitant to make a move, especially if they've known each other for as long as Link claimed. The whole 'don't want to ruin a good friendship' anxiety—yeah, she could understand that.

"_Achoo!_"

Zelda flinched slightly as Link abruptly sneezed, the echoing noise catching her off guard. She turned to him, and he had his collar pulled over his nose so that he didn't sneeze right into the air.

"Watch out with those proofs," she scolded. "We're turning those in and I don't want your spit on them."

"I know that," he shot her a dirty look, sniffling a bit and turning back to the draft of the entertainment page in his other hand.

Zelda couldn't help but smile a bit to herself for a quick second, though; for the past three and a half months, it's always been Link barking commands and chastising her for everything; even if it was just something so miniscule as just telling him to be careful sneezing, it felt nice having it the other way around.

* * *

"Thank you so much for meeting the deadline early!"

Link and Zelda bowed their heads slightly to the receptionist as he took the large manila envelope from her. He nodded his head to return their gesture and set the envelope with the others from the other high schools the office published for.

"We tried our best," Zelda laughed modestly, running a hand through her hair.

"We should have your copies complete by Thursday afternoon," the receptionist said as he looked down at his desk calendar. He took his pen and circled the Thursday of the following week and wrote the school's name in the box. "Come by any time after four as usual."

"We'll be in touch then," Zelda replied. Link silently nodded in agreement.

"Thank you again!" The receptionist beamed as the two took their leave. As they entered the elevator, Link listlessly pressed the palm of his hand against the button for the ground floor.

"You've gotten more professional," he said to Zelda as the doors closed in front of them. He didn't look at her, though; Zelda turned to him, but he just kept his eyes fixated on the closed chrome doors.

"…What?" She asked, tilting her head to the side a bit.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then back to the doors before him. "I mean you're getting better. Your writing quality and job as our business connection with the printers and all."

The compliment actually didn't sound the least bit sarcastic or underhanded in any way. She noticed that it did sound a little awkward, though. She smiled a bit; perhaps Link really wasn't all that accustomed to giving praise?

"Still not as good as me," he shrugged. "But good for a first year."

She just scoffed at that; she had been only half expecting a take-back like that. Such was Link, as she'd grown used to over the past four months: every time Link would say something remotely positive, he'd find a way to take it back as if to keep his distance from others.

"Thanks," she chuckled with a wry smile. She had conditioned herself to get used to such comments. If it were still the beginning of the year, she had to admit that she would have easily gotten irritated. But those comments had become a bit of an everyday thing, for better or worse. Link's presence itself had become a bit of an everyday thing.

For better or worse.

"_Achoo!_"

Link pressed his face against the inner linings of his wool uniform cardigan to prevent from sneezing into the air again. He sniffled a bit, shaking his head, as if the hunching over winded him out.

"What, getting sick?" She asked him. It really wasn't a question of concern, though.

"Guess so," he sighed, sniffling again.

Zelda looked at him for a bit before reaching into his book bag. "Well here then." She took out a pack of to-go tissues, ripped a sheet out and handed it to him.

Link looked at the tissue in her hand before quietly accepting it, holding it to his nose and wiping his nostrils. Zelda just raised an eyebrow slightly at him.

_You're welcome._

"I feel so loved," he said nonchalantly, stuffing the tissue in his jeans pocket.

Zelda's brow cocked straight up at that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He just turned to her with a straight face, eyes connecting with her. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and he couldn't help but chuckle at her. She had gotten better at maintaining eye contact with him too.

She just sighed as the elevator doors opened, and Linked casually walked ahead of her. "Don't get any ideas," she rolled her eyes. "Offering a tissue paper is hardly the basis for a relationship."

"I wasn't even thinking that," he replied, though it didn't hold any of his usual snarky tone. He slowed down enough so that Zelda could catch up with him. Another deep, rumbling laugh escaped his lips. "Always so serious."

Zelda just sighed softly in resignation, not even having the energy to argue back with him. It had been a long day, or more like a long past two weeks. The December issue had been by far the most exhausting simply because of such a small window of time they had to complete it in.

As they both approached the sliding doors leading outside of the building, they heard the pitter-patter of rain against the cement ground and the soft howling of the winter wind.

"Damn weather forecast," Link scoffed, coming to a stop just before the sensors above the exit could detect their presence and open for them. "They can never get the rain predictions right."

Zelda just shrugged and rummaged through her book bag for her small umbrella. She slipped the sleeve off and opened it, walking through the doors as they opened for her. But she stopped right in the middle of the doors when she noticed Link wasn't following her; she turned around, and there he was, still standing a little ways before the floor mat on the ground.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"…I didn't bring an umbrella," he admitted after a short pause.

She snorted a bit at that. "Always professional Link Avalon is unprepared?_ Really?_"

"It didn't look like it was gonna rain this morning," he rolled his eyes. He just sighed and reached for his binder in his bag. "Whatever." He held it above his head as a shade and walked towards the door, bracing himself as the cold breeze hit his face.

Zelda watched him for a moment before stopping him. "Wait."

He turned around just before he walked under the rain, and Zelda just breathed exasperatedly and moved next to him. "I'll share with you."

She had to raise her arm holding the umbrella a bit to accommodate his height, and they had to move close enough together that their shoulders touched. As soon as she made sure they were both under its shade, they walked into the rain and down the steps.

"You're so hopeless sometimes," she muttered as they made their way down the sidewalk towards the train station. She used her free hand to keep her skirt down from blowing in the wind. Goddesses, what was the point of having a uniform dedicated to the cold weather if the bottom for the girls was still a skirt?

"I didn't ask you to share," he replied in an equally quiet voice.

"You're already starting to get sick, aren't you?" She asked rhetorically, furrowing her brow a bit. "It's no good if the editor-in-chief isn't there during business to supervise."

He looked down at her for a second. She really had gotten more professional.

"…Thanks," he said softly, but loudly enough for her to hear him. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye before nodding slightly in acknowledgement.

"Yeah," she said, looking forward again.

As they walked in silence, Zelda couldn't help but notice that some of the other people around walking in the opposite direction would occasionally look over to them. She tried to pay them no attention, but the fact that people were beginning to stare—some were even smiling and whispering something to whoever they were with—was starting to get to her.

What could they have been thinking? They… they didn't actually think they were a couple or something, did they? What was this, some high school TV drama? Okay, so they were two high school students walking impossibly close next to each other under a shared umbrella in the rain… That was _hardly_ a reason to think they were together! Just because they _looked_ the part…

Did they _really_ look like that much of a couple? Zelda's brow knit at the thought. She remembered the month before that Colin had somehow gotten the same mistaken idea. She had to admit that they _have_ been spending a suspiciously great deal of time with each other; she hadn't seen him spend so much time with any of the editors, even. Save for Pipit, she supposed, but that was expected since they were friends. Come to think of it, Pipit had the same idea too.

"_Maybe he likes you."_

She still thought of that every now and then, though she would always try to think very little of it whenever it came up. To like someone meant that you had to act… well, pleasantly around them, maybe? And he amount of time she spent with Link that she could call pleasant, well there wasn't much of that as far as she was concerned.

Come to think of it, since that night she came over to his apartment to work on her Homecoming article, Link had been noticeably more distant towards her. Well as far as she could tell, he still had his sharp tongue and smart aleck responses—that wasn't something that was really observed just for her—but he hadn't talked to her much outside of business. Even when they have each other's phone numbers, the only time he'd ever text was to ask on progress on the paper. He also hasn't invaded her personal space since that night when he backed her up against the wall. In fact, how they were walking just then—arms touching—that was the closest they've been physically since that morning at the train station following what happened in his apartment.

She quickly stole a glance up at Link, and based on what little she could have observed in that split second, he didn't seem to mind the attention they were attracting. He just stared forward, face expressionless; and save for the occasional sniffle, completely silent.

Just _what_ was Link thinking?

"Don't worry about them," she heard him say, breaking her concentration.

"W-what?" She asked, shaking her head out of her thoughts. She turned to him, and he was looking down at her.

"The people looking at us, right?" He asked again. He glanced up for a second to make eye contact with a boy about their age in another school's uniform. Link didn't have to scowl or even make a face that even remotely resembled a challenge; the boy just quickly turned away and noticeably sped up faster, walking past them. Zelda had to fight back a chuckle at the boy's reaction. She had gotten used to it over time, but she had forgotten just how intimidating Link looked.

"Just ignore them," Link repeated with a shrug, turning forward again.

Zelda's eyes lowered slowly to the ground before looking back ahead as well. So Link noticed too. She wondered what he thought of what everyone around them was obviously thinking… Probably not much considering all he said about it was to ignore them.

As they approached the entrance to the train station, Zelda lowered her umbrella and closed it once they reached the overhanging shade above the top of the stairs that led underground to the loading platform.

"Thanks again," Link said to her. Zelda turned to him as she put the sleeve back on her umbrella, and he was quietly walking down the stairs, back to her, and a few small sniffles escaping him as he did so.

* * *

The following Sunday afternoon, Zelda made her way through the crowded sidewalks of the shopping arcade a few blocks from her apartment complex. She had spent the entire weekend buying Triforce Day gifts for her family and friends, as well as making little care bags of mixed candies and baked goods for _The Stone_'s staff. There was just one more gift she still had to get, and it was her Secret Nohansen gift.

For Link. Fancy that.

Clothing, electronics and specialty stores of all kinds lined the streets, all packed with people getting their head starts on their seasonal shopping before the schools dismissed for winter break the following week. Bakeries selling this, comic and video game shops selling that… There were so many places to begin, and Zelda literally didn't know where.

When she drew Link's name out of the basket Karane handed to her that Friday, it made her realize just how little she knew about him… not that she didn't know that already. But it seemed that whatever the case, having to get someone a gift was the ultimate test of how well she knew a person, and this Secret Nohansen game really made it clear that she knew almost nothing about Link personally. Even then, gifts, as far as she was concerned, had to be genuinely thoughtful and practical. She didn't want to take the easy way out and just give him a gift card to a department store or restaurant or something like that; even people like Link deserved some effort.

…Link seemed like the kind of person to like reading, right? Zelda thought that made enough sense, seeing as how he was the editor-in-chief of the paper. She also remembered seeing the bookcase built into the wall under the windows in his apartment. It had been filled to the brim with all different kinds of books that she was sure didn't come along with the apartment when he leased it. She saw the glowing neon sign for the Shad Bookstore a few buildings down, and headed for its entrance. It couldn't hurt to at least just look around and see if she could find something that looked like a book Link would enjoy.

Shad Books was one of the city's largest bookstore chains, and their stores, like with everything else in Castle Town, were impossibly huge. Her neighborhood's location was one of the smaller ones in the city, but even by that standard it was the size of a modestly sized department store, with three floors covering just about every genre of literature there was, from reference and self-help, to horror and smutty romance.

So many sections to look through… Maybe she could get some coffee at the adjoining café before looking around. She was exhausted from the shopping she did earlier before; she stopped by her apartment to drop the bags off so she wouldn't have to carry them all around with her. Yeah, coffee sounded good. She could use the stimulation.

As she fell in line with the other people waiting in front of the registers, she couldn't help but notice, even if was just the person's back, that the man standing in front of her looked oddly familiar. A tall solid frame, medium length dark blond hair…

"…Mr. Avalon?" She asked tentatively.

The man in front of her looked over his shoulder and eyed her. Sure enough, she was right. It was Raven.

"…Oh," he said softly, turning back around. "Ms. Harkinian."

She raised her eyebrow a bit, but she shrugged his reaction off. It's not like she was expecting a friendly smile and handshake or anything, especially from him.

"What are you doing here?" Raven asked casually, his back still facing her. He pushed up the rolled up sleeves of his white dress shirt and loosened his necktie a bit.

"…Just Triforce Day shopping," she replied. "…What brings you here?" It sounded so awkward talking to him. He was only six years older than her, but it felt like she was talking to a middle-aged adult. She couldn't even bring herself to call him by his first name.

"Business," was all he said. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, behind her to a table where his laptop sat open with a few books strewn about. As soon as the customer in front of him finished her order, Raven and Zelda were both called up to individual registers and gave their orders simultaneously.

"Thank you!" The cashier smiled as Zelda handed her a blue rupee and the register tray opened with a ring. She tore the printed receipt out and handed it to the blonde. "Your drink should be right out."

Zelda took the small piece of paper. "Thank you!" She replied in a bit of a sing-song tone; it was a bit of a habit of hers when paying for something.

Stuffing the receipt in her purse, she turned around to see Raven, who was standing by the counter where the baristas called for finished drinks. She walked over quietly next to him, though kept a fair amount of distance between the older man and herself.

"…How is it at _The Gossip Stone?_" He asked again after a short pause, his hands in the pockets of his fitted slacks.

"It's fine," she replied. Goddesses, it was like talking to one of her uncles, but he was only in his early twenties! "We turned in the latest issue for publishing on Friday."

"So I heard," he raised his brow for a quick second in response. "From my uncle, I mean."

She folded her arms over her chest and nodded slightly. It was obvious she was a bit uncomfortable. Or at least just felt horribly awkward talking to him.

"How's that brother of mine?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. What was with the small talk? Not that she particularly minded it, but didn't he hate her or something?

"…He's fine," she answered slowly with a bit of suspicion in her voice. She heard one of the baristas call out a drink, but it was for another customer who had already been waiting.

"'Fine,'" he repeated with a bit of a snort. "Is that the only word you know?"

Goddesses, _just _like Link.

A bit of an irritated breath escaped her lips at that. Her arms folded a bit more tightly in response. "Not that it's any of my business, but is there any bad blood between you and Link?"

Raven glanced down to her at that; as soon as he made eye contact, she couldn't help but look away from him. She may have gotten used to dealing with Link, but Raven seemed so much more… frightening.

"You're right," he replied flatly. "It _is_ none of your business."

_So brazen!_

"But he's always been way too soft," he added. Zelda turned to him at that. "He's almost eighteen but he still acts like a little brat. Throws a fit whenever people don't pay attention to him or doesn't get what he wants."

Zelda's brow cocked up as he spoke.

"Clings onto people like they're his security blankets."

Her eyes widened a bit at that.

"_He tends to get sort of… clingy."_

"_Kid stuck to you like glue."_

So it wasn't just Pipit who observed that kind of behavior from Link…

Raven looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I'm sure you know all about that, though."

She cleared her throat nervously and scratched the back of her neck, looking away from him. "…I-I wouldn't know."

He just chuckled softly at her response.

"I got a large hot deku nut mocha for Raven!" A male worker called out from behind the counter. He slipped on a protective sleeve onto the cup. Raven walked over to the man and took it, thanking him quickly. He walked over to Zelda, blowing into the mouthpiece of the cup lid and taking a careful sip of the hot liquid inside.

"Ms. Harkinian—"

"Zelda," she quickly interrupted him. "…Zelda is fine."

"…Zelda," he repeated after a pause, standing next to her again where he previously had been. "Is there anything romantic going on between you and him?"

She furrowed her brow at that. What kind of question was that!

"…That's not any of your business," she shrugged, repeating his earlier response. It lacked any of the firmness he spoke with, though.

"Oh, I think it is," he retorted. "Strained as we are, he's still my little brother."

So _now_ he wanted to play protective big brother?

"Well either way," she started, "No, there isn't. I'm just one of his workers for _The Stone_."

Raven looked at her pointedly for a second, taking another quiet sip of his coffee. "…I would suggest—for your sake—that it remain that way."

Zelda turned to him at his comment. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"It wouldn't work out," he added. "He's way too immature for a romantic relationship like that."

Zelda furrowed her brow tightly. 'For her sake?' He's too 'immature?' He wasn't making sense!

"A medium Kakariko blend coffee with a pump of deku nut and a shot of espresso for Zelda!" The male barista called out again. Zelda walked over and, after he put on the heat resistant sleeve onto the cup, took the drink with a nod and a thanked him.

As she turned around to face Raven, she saw him walking over to her.

"One more thing before you go," he said, motioning for her to step to the side so they wouldn't be blocking the pick-up counter. She tried to control what would have been a deep, exasperated sigh. What did he want _this_ time?

"Yes?" She asked, trying to remain as polite sounding as she could manage.

"No matter what he may tell you what he wants," he started. "He's inheriting his share of our family's company."

"_If it were up to me, I'd just give the whole damn paper to my brother and leave myself out of it."_

"He's already distracted enough with his idealism about his music and his childish personality," he shrugged.

'His music?' She remembered what Pipit had told her before, that Link was apparently quite accomplished with the piano. She also remembered that Link kept an electronic keyboard in his living room.

…Then she remembered before they went to the publisher's office for the first time, she had been talking to her father on the phone about her college choices, and how Link very subtly hinted at the fact that his family also disapproved with whatever it was he wanted to pursue after high school. What it that he wanted to major in music or something?

Raven continued on. "The last thing he needs is a girl jerking him around."

Zelda's eyes widened at that, taken aback by his last comment. 'Jerking him around!'

"What do you mean by that?" She demanded, although she tried to restrain herself as best she could; they were in public, after all, and the last thing she wanted was to make a scene. "What do you mean, that I've been 'jerking him around?'"

He looked at her for a second before taking a sip of his coffee. "…Are you in love with Link?"

She almost flinched at the question, staring up at him hard. "I-I already told you that there's nothing going on between him and me."

"But that's not what I'm asking now," he replied. "I'm asking how _you _feel about him."

Her brow knit at that. Her mouth opened slightly to speak, but it closed when the thoughts in her head weren't able to translate into speech. How she felt about Link? What kind of question was that! It definitely wasn't love! No way in the Sacred Realm was it love!

…Right? If not love, then it definitely wasn't hate. No matter how much she wanted to punch him out of frustration—and Goddesses knows how many times she's felt that way—she couldn't really say that she hated him. I mean, there was that one time she blurted it out without thinking and Link ended up getting all butthurt about it, but it honestly was just out of frustration.

Just how _did_ she feel towards Link?

"If you can't answer me that," he sighed. He shrugged his shoulders, waving his drink in the air as he did so. "Then do as I told you before—stay away from him. Keep your relationship with him as strictly business as possible. And don't visit him at his apartment anymore, either. He doesn't need anymore of your mixed signals."

With that, Raven turned around walked back to his seat. Zelda wanted to call him back and demand answers from him, but the words never came out. What was he even talking about? For one thing, she didn't visit him; Link _insisted_ almost against her will that she come over! And her sending Link mixed signals? Link was the one sending _her_ mixed signals ever since they first met! And she didn't even mean anything that could signify a romantic interest in her: he'd insult her, then act like nothing ever happened and give her a compliment whenever she did something right… and then take it right back with a comment about how it was good "for a newbie" or "I could do it better…" Why the hell didn't he just do things himself if he could do it better!

Zelda sighed tiredly, deciding not even to argue with Raven. Something told her that even if she tried, he wouldn't bother to try to listen to reason.

* * *

I made up Triforce Remembrance Day to replace it with Christmas since I don't think there was any Jesus in the _Zelda _world, so to try to stick as closely to canon as I could I tried to replace it with the _Zelda_ universe's mythology.

This chapter was also originally intended to be longer, but I broke it in half for pacing reasons, and I felt that I've been making you all wait long enough. I'm so terribly sorry if this chapter was lacking greatly. Making you all wait so long for nothing eurihergaeliiw why do you all put up with me and my mediocrity D;

I PROMISE the wait for chapter nine won't be nearly as long as it took for this to get published. T_T

Comments and constructive feedback is always accepted and appreciated.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


	9. Issue IX

…Two weeks isn't nearly as bad of a wait as a month, is it? airlgherlgeargna I will be quiet and let you all read now. =_=

* * *

Zelda waited in the lounge area of the apartment lobby, impatiently tapping her foot on the marble floor as she waited for Link. She checked her phone for the time again. It was 7:05. Their usual train to school was scheduled to leave in 10 minutes.

Where was Link? She leaned to the side, trying to peer into the hallway that led to the elevator. Every now and then someone would come out, but none of them were him.

She couldn't help but laugh to herself, though. Ever since they started going to school together, Link was always the one waiting for her, with some smart aleck comment about her oversleeping or taking her sweet time getting ready bogging them down. This was the first time that she was the one waiting for him.

…Wait! That was her opportunity! Why was she even waiting for him? Hurry up, just leave him! Why should she be late to school on his account!

…But then that wouldn't be right, would it? It wasn't like they officially agreed to go to school and home together every day. Goddesses, she didn't even want to! Link just forced it on her, like with everything else in their relationship!

…Still. They've been doing it since almost the beginning of the school year without fail. Going to school alone would feel… well, it wouldn't feel… right?

Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She checked the screen as it lit up and a small preview bubble for an incoming text message.

_"Can't go to school today. Feeling sick._

_Sorry for the late notice._

_-L"_

Zelda just rolled her eyes at her phone's screen. _Now_ he told her! Might as well reply though, just to let him know she got the message.

_"It's fine. Get better soon."_

She looked at the gift bag next to her feet containing Link's Secret Nohansen gift. There was no point in taking it to school if he wasn't going to be there, but then it would take too much time to go back to her apartment to drop it off, and she was already running late… Oh well. She could always just store it in the office before school then take it home after the banquet. She was going to stop by to drop off the food she brought and help distribute the newspapers before class started, anyway.

Getting up from the sofa and picking up her bags, she headed for the exit to the lobby, meeting with the brisk, early winter wind.

She felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her wool cardigan again. She shouldered Link's gift and reached into her pocket for her phone. It was an incoming call. From Link.

_What did he want this time?_

She slid her thumb across the screen to accept the call and held the speaker to her ear. "Hello?"

"Did I keep you waiting long?"

_Yes, hello to you too._

"What?" She asked, looking at the phone next to her cheek from the corners of her eyes.

"Were you waiting in the lobby for me that whole time before I texted you?"

Her brow furrowed for a bit. "…I wasn't waiting long. Just a few minutes."

She heard him chuckle hoarsely over the phone. She could hear the scratchiness in his voice, and she knew it wasn't from bad cell phone reception. Link had been quite sick all week despite showing up every day for business. She supposed that his ill health finally caught up with him that he felt he had to take a day off.

"So you were waiting for me?" He asked again, amusement dripping off his words. "Isn't it _you_ who's always telling me I'm wasting my time waiting for you in the morning?"

Zelda scoffed a bit as she waited for the pedestrian crossing light to turn green. Apparently being sick didn't stop him from being a smart ass. "You'd probably just say something about me if I hadn't anyway."

Link stayed quiet for a second at that. "Sounds about right."

The call got awkwardly quiet for a bit. The pedestrian light turned green, and Zelda spoke up again as she started to cross the street. "…You know, you're going to miss the banquet. And someone's not going to get a Nohansen gift because of you."

"I got Saria," he replied through a few coughs. "I told her last night I wasn't going to school today and that I was her Secret Nohansen. I went over to her house to drop her gift off then, so it's fine."

Just like Link to plan things ahead so thoroughly. "Well you could have at least told me you weren't going to school today while you were at that," she scolded. "Could have saved me the time of waiting for nothing and risking being late."

Link paused for a bit before chuckling, fighting off another cough as he did so. "Still can't believe you actually waited. Knowing you, you probably wouldn't have even bothered with it and just left without me."

She grimaced at that. No matter how much she tried to make herself out to be as mysterious as Link did so well, she was nothing more than an open book to him.

"…Don't think anything of it," was all she said. "I already told you why I did. Give it a rest."

"So you say."

She rolled her eyes quietly. He went almost the entire production cycle of the fourth issue saying the least he'd ever had to her since they first met, and just _now_ he was deciding to be a chatterbox?

"How about you?" He asked her. "You haven't told me who you got for Secret Nohansen yet."

She looked down at his gift tucked under her arm. She smiled inwardly for a second at his question. "Guess you're not going to find out since you won't be at the banquet."

Link snorted a bit at her cheeky response, coughing as he did so. "Hm. Guess so."

They fell silent again as Zelda turned the corner and made her way down the stairs to the subway station.

"…How are you feeling?" She finally asked, walking over to the electronic ticket booth to scan her subway pass.

"I've been better," he sighed softly. "Just a head cold pretty much, but I've been burnt out the past few weeks."

She nodded slightly. She put the bags in her left hand down to reach for her wallet in her book bag. "Temperature?"

"A slight one."

"Go take some medicine."

"Thanks, _Mom_."

She scoffed at his sarcasm, but she didn't know why—she smiled for a second. A very wry, "are you kidding me" smile, but it was still a smile either way.

As soon as the machine finished scanning her subway pass, she stepped aside to allow the businessman behind her to do the same, and then turned around to face the growing crowd at the edge of the loading platform. She could hear in the distance the sound of the incoming subway grinding against the tracks. She just barely made it in time to catch the usual train.

"…Well, I have to go now," she said to Link after a bit. "The train's coming any second."

He didn't respond right away, though; he just cleared his throat softly and made a muffled sound, as if wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "Okay. Have fun at the party this afternoon."

"Thanks," she replied. "And you get well soon."

She removed her phone from her cheek, but just before she was able to end the call, she heard Link's voice on the other end again.

"Wait."

She paused for a second, looking at her phone's monitor before holding the speaker next to her ear. "Yes?"

"Have whoever got me for Secret Nohansen drop my gift off at my place later."

Zelda almost grunted in disbelief at that. What was he, some kid! How old was he even again?

"Are you kidding?" She cocked an eyebrow, standing with the other waiting passengers as she did so.

"Shit, I'm not waiting until after we come back from winter break," he said in a completely matter-of-fact tone. "Make sure you give them my address."

She just rolled her eyes at her phone. On second thought, she _could_ believe that Link said that.

"Whatever," she scoffed. She looked up as she heard the train come to a halt at the loading platform and the doors opened. Out came waves of passengers trying to fight their way past the crowd gathered at the platform.

He just snorted back in reply. "Later, Newbie."

She narrowed her eyes a bit at that, but she thought she'd let it slide that one time. It was Triforce Day season, after all. "Bye."

"Wait."

An impatient groan escaped her lips, breathing it into the mouthpiece so he could hear it. "What now? I really have to go, people are boarding right now."

"Don't say bye."

Her brow furrowed at his response. "What?"

"When we get off the phone or leave or anything like that," he said. "Don't say 'bye.'"

"Why not?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow as she stepped into the train.

"You're boarding, right?" He asked. "I'll explain it later when you have time. But just don't say 'bye.'"

Her eyes darted back and forth in confusion for a second as she took a seat, but she just decided to let it go for the time being. In Castle Town, there were courtesy rules to turn off ringers and not talk on the phone on public transportation, and text message or email instead; attendants and security guards were known to crack down on the policy rather heavily.

"…Fine," she sighed. "I'll… talk to you later then."

"Later," he replied again. And with that, he ended the call.

Zelda looked at her phone in confusion as if it were Link himself, before she just stuffed it into her book bag. What was that all about just then? She's said bye to him before… although more often than not did they not just say anything at all; they usually just left the conversation hanging, but that seemed to be fine enough with Link.

Maybe it was just his head cold talking? The guy definitely needed some sleep, that was for sure.

She pooled her belongings closer to her feet to make room for the other passengers, and a young boy and girl in elementary school uniforms sat down to her right. She smiled softly at them; they looked like siblings. At the same time, though, she furrowed her brow slightly in thought at the fact that a tall, scowling blond wasn't sitting where they were.

It really did feel weird not going to school with Link for once.

* * *

"Hey Zelda," Karane smiled at the blonde as she almost stumbled into the office, numerous gift bags to her from her classmates hanging off her forearm like she was a coatrack.

"Hi," she gasped almost breathlessly, flipping her hair out of her eyes as she ambled over to her desk and, in a less than graceful manner, slid the bags off her arms next to her chair and slumped down into the seat. "Sorry I'm late. My friends were all doing gift exchanges too and wouldn't let me leave until we were all done."

"It's fine," Saria said with a smile as she organized the platters of food everyone brought at the tables next the lounge area with some of the other staff writers. "So you ate already?"

"Not yet," the blonde replied, rubbing off the ring imprints the heavy bags left on her sore forearms. "I made sure to save up enough of an appetite for today at least."

"Good," the green haired girl nodded, giggling as she did so. "I think everyone brought too much food!"

Karane just chuckled at that. "Give the leftovers to Midna, Darunia and Pipit. Bottomless pits'll eat anything."

The two other girls just laughed at that, and almost as if on cue, the Twili, Goron and Hylian came walking in with loaded looking paper grocery bags.

"Got more sodas!" Pipit announced, lifting the bags up to show the rest of the staff.

"Just put them over there with the rest," Karane said to them, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the table next to the fridge. She shot Saria and Zelda a quick smirk as Darunia and Pipit walked past her.

"Hey!" Midna called out to Darunia. He stopped to turn around and face her, and she immediately shoved her bags into his arms on top of the ones he was already carrying. "Take these!"

"H-hey! B-but I—" The muscular Goron stammered, but before he could get a word in edgewise with her, the bags of sodas were stacked against his chest and she was running off to the front of the class. "Midna!"

Darunia was very well built, but even the six two-liter soda bottles were starting to make the veins in his forearms and biceps bulge. "Pipit, help me out!"

The freckled teen glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow, but his eyes widened and hurried over to get some of the bags off Darunia. "Whoooa, calm down there buddy! We all know you're buff, but know your limits!"

The Goron glared at him for a second as he turned around and set the bags he took on the table with the others. "B-but I didn't—"

"Okay everyone!" Midna exclaimed as she stood behind the lectern in front of the white board. "Time for Secret Nohansen exchanges!"

"Midna, Link's not even here yet!" Karane called back to her from behind the editors' desks.

"Link's not coming," Zelda announced, getting up from her seat and walking over to the food table.

The class looked at her when she spoke, eyes following her as she stood next to Colin and across from Karane, and took an egg roll from the tray Pipit brought.

"Why not?" Colin asked, looking up at him.

"He said he wasn't feeling too well," she replied, taking a bite out of the egg roll.

"Really?" Pipit's eyebrows shot up, genuinely surprised at that. Darunia walked past him and over to the desks near the front of the class.

"Yeah," Saria nodded. "He stopped by my place last night to give me my Nohansen gift and told me the same thing."

"Oh, no wonder he wasn't in calc today," Karane tilted her head to the side in thought, thinking back to how she didn't see Link in their calculus class. "But that's weird, though. Link _never_ misses class, especially just because he's sick."

"Link just never gets sick to begin with," Saria looked up in thought. "…Well, when he _does_, though, it gets pretty bad."

"Remember when he came in that one time last year when he was sick with the flu the entire week?" Pipit chuckled. "Because we were a week behind schedule?"

"Yeah," Midna rolled her eyes, overhearing their conversation from across the room. "And then _I_ got sick because of him."

"But you deserved that," Darunia said casually. The Twili retorted by chucking a white board rag at him and shooting an angry glare in his direction.

"O-kay…" Karane drawled out, looking at all the food before her in thought. She held up her palms in front of her. "…I guess we'll just start off without him… Oh, wait. Who got Link for Nohansen, just because he's not here?"

"I did," Zelda raised her hand.

"Just make sure you get it to him then sometime during break," Pipit smiled, walking over to the front of the class where everyone else was seated. Zelda nodded, returning the smile, and wiped her hands free of the egg roll oil before joining them.

"Oooh, and what did Miss Zellie get our dear editor-in-chief?" Midna smirked at her, leaning against the lectern and resting her cheeks in her palms. The blonde just chuckled in reply; "Miss Zellie" was the nickname Midna had developed for her. It didn't bother her so much, though; it was at least better than "Newbie."

"I guess we won't know since the good chief isn't here," Zelda retorted cheekily, returning the same smart tone. She sat down between Pipit and Colin as the Twili just rolled her eyes playfully before turning to the rest of the class. "Okay! Since Secret Nohansen was _my_ idea, I'll go first!"

* * *

The night of Triforce Remembrance Day, Zelda's parents were holding a dinner party for their entire extended family and friends in their penthouse like they usually did every year. All the adults were gathered around the table in the dining room, talking and laughing loudly—especially her mom and aunts. Her cousins were all either in the kitchen doing much of the same, or outside on the patio sharing a few cigarettes and cans of beer, while her nieces and nephews—her cousins' children—were watching animated Triforce Remembrance specials on TV. It was how their family parties always were.

And Zelda always felt somewhat lonely during every one of them.

Of course, Zelda loved having her family over or going to her cousins' houses for such gatherings. They didn't happen very often outside of major holidays since all of them were so busy, especially the parents, but Zelda admittedly didn't have anyone to really connect to. Both her parents were the youngest of their siblings, so they naturally got married later and subsequently had Zelda by the time her cousins were all starting school for the first time or even later. She liked talking to her cousins, but she felt horribly out of place since most of them were either in or had graduated from university, some with families of their own already. They were all of legal drinking age as well; and Zelda, still being in high school, wasn't allowed to do so. Her nieces and nephews were all downwards of ten years old or so too, so Zelda didn't really have anyone in her age range to talk to. Usually when it was her family holding the party for everyone, she had Malon come over so she would at least have someone her age to talk to, but this year Malon was visiting her extended family at her father's ranch down in Hyrule's heartland. She considered inviting Karane over as well, but she was out in Labrynna with her family on vacation also.

"Hurry up!" One of Zelda's younger cousins Talo cried out to his older sister Beth. Zelda was playing a game of Jenga with two of her Aunt Sera's youngest children, Beth and Talo. It was a game that involved stacking rows of three blocks on top of each other into a tower, then all players took turns taking blocks and replacing them on top until someone knocked the tower over completely, making them the game's loser.

"I don't want to lose!" Beth snapped at him, trying to cautiously push a center block from near the tower's base.

"Come on, Beth," Zelda smiled with a giggle. "You can do it!"

After a few pokes and wiggling the wooden block out of its space, Beth successfully got it out. She was just about to place it on top, however, when the tower unceremoniously toppled over. The two and Zelda cried out loudly as all the long blocks crashed against the wooden coffee table.

"You lose!" Talo teased. Beth just shot him a dirty glare, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"You think I don't know that!"

"Aw, be nice now!" Zelda patted Talo on his back before pooling the blocks together. "You two wanna play another round?"

"Yeah!" They exclaimed.

"I won't lose this time!" Beth nodded, furrowing her brow in determination.

"Zelda!" She heard her father call her name. She turned around and saw him walking up to her, a half-filled glass of red wine in hand.

She looked back to the two children. "You two set up the tower for the next game while I talk to grandpa, okay?"

"Okay!"

Zelda smiled warmly at them before getting up from the carpet and turning back around to face her father.

"Yes, Dad?" She asked, dusting off the back of her jeans.

"Where's Malon?" He asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"She's in Lon City with family," she replied with a shrug. "Why?"

"Nothing," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "I just thought she'd be here since you always invite her over. You don't want to invite any other friends? You just looked kind of lonely by yourself here with the kids."

"I'm fine," she said, looking back at Talo and Beth, who were both busy as work rebuilding the tower for the next game.

"…Well," she started again. "Actually, there might be someone I know."

"Then invite them over!" Her father laughed. "More the merrier!"

With that, he turned around to walk back to the dining area with the other adults, who were all laughing just as obnoxiously. Yeah, they had all _definitely_ been drinking.

* * *

Zelda pressed the doorbell button for Link's apartment. She still couldn't believe that she was actually going to invite him to the party… What was she thinking? She almost regretted ringing the bell right after she pressed it.

But then there was nothing to worry about as far as having him meet her family, right? It's not like they were _going out_ or anything! And knowing Link, he probably wouldn't even say yes anyway. Link said himself that he wasn't the celebrating type… And she still needed to give him his Secret Nohansen gift, after all.

…Which she forgot to bring. Damn, she _knew_ she was forgetting something!

The door opened, snapping herself out of her thoughts. Out came Link, dressed in a dark green hoodie and gray pajama bottoms. She just stared at him for a moment, almost immediately forgetting exactly why she had even come in the first place. He just looked at her from behind his glasses with a raised eyebrow, expecting her to speak up.

"…Yes?" He asked quietly, breaking the short silence between them.

"O-oh, oh yeah," she laughed stupidly. Wow, Zelda. _So_ good. "Um, Happy Triforce Day."

He cocked his already raised brow even higher. "…Happy Triforce Day… I'm sure you didn't come all the way down here just to tell me that."

She was mentally kicking herself over and over. She couldn't begin to believe how stupid she sounded right then. It was the first time in almost two weeks that they last saw each other, and she started it off like _that._ "Well, no… Am I interrupting anything?"

He scratched the back of his head, looking back into his apartment before answering. "No, not really… Come in."

"…I guess I'll stay for a minute," she said softly. Link stepped to the side to let her through, and she walked into his apartment, taking her shoes off. It looked exactly how it looked the last time she was there, save for the fact that his electric keyboard was on top of the coffee table instead of under it. Various pages of sheet music were scattered around the surface of the table, like he had just been playing it before he answered the door. There wasn't a sign of any Triforce Day decorations. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself; Link really wasn't the celebrating type.

"You want anything to drink?" He asked, closing the door.

"No, I'm fine," Zelda answered, walking over to the coffee table and eyeing some of the sheet music Link had apparently been reading. She picked up a page and looked at the song title. It was a Triforce Remembrance carol. She looked down at the table… they were _all_ Triforce Remembrance carols.

Before she knew it, she felt Link snatch the paper she was holding out of her hand and startling her. She looked up and saw Link sitting down on the sofa, quickly gathering all the papers and sorting them into their respective songs.

"I would have thought you'd be busy celebrating with your family," he said, stuffing various stacks of sheet music into different tabbed folders.

"I am, actually," she replied, pointing her thumb behind her shoulder. "We're actually in the middle of dinner at my place."

"Hm," he hummed softly. "Sounds nice."

"…Why aren't you with your family?" She asked. "I mean, it's the holidays."

He froze at the question, looking up at her as if to ask with his eyes if she had just _honestly_ asked him that question.

She took the hint and just laughed nervously. "…Right. Sorry."

"…Well I met them up for dinner and mass last night," he shrugged. "So I guess I did my part."

"You really must not like your family, huh?" Zelda asked, a bit of sadness in her tone.

Link put the folders on the bottom tier of the coffee table and got up to unplug the keyboard from the socket behind the sofa. "You can call it teen angst if you want. But everyone has their reasons."

She just looked at him for a second. "I wasn't going to."

Zelda supposed Link had a point. She supposed she didn't understand fully the concept of Link hating his family as much as he made it look like he did. Generally speaking, she got along well with everyone in her family. She's never actually hated any of them, so she couldn't say she understood the feeling. It seemed fair enough to acknowledge that there were people who, just like Link said, did have their own reasons for being. She didn't exactly know the inner happenings of the Avalon family either, so she really wasn't in any place to judge.

He looked over his shoulder while he was still bent over, trying to wrestle the tight plug from the socket, then looked back and yanked it out. "…Not that I don't want you here, but why are you? You're in the middle of dinner, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded, but she stopped for a split second at his question. 'Not that I don't want you here?' What did that mean? "…I actually dropped by to ask if you wanted to join us, maybe?"

Link looked at her for a second as he coiled up the cord around his arm. "I appreciate the offer, but isn't that a family affair?"

She just shrugged at that. "Well my dad even asked if I knew anyone who wanted to drop by. We have plenty of food that I doubt we'd all be able to finish ourselves too, so it's not like you'd be imposing."

Link tied the cord together with a rubber band on the coffee table and, picking up the keyboard, stuffed it back under the coffee table where it usually was. "…I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay for an hour or two. Just let me put some jeans on, I guess."

"Okay," she nodded. With that, she watched Link walk back into his room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Your turn, Uncle Link!" Beth laughed as she successfully placed her wooden block on top of the growing and increasingly unstable tower.

"My turn now?" Link smiled at her, before looking at the tower, studying to see which block he could take out without toppling it over. He, the kids and Zelda were playing another game of Jenga; it was Link and Talo against Zelda and Beth. The game had gone on for quite a while; there were parts that were only balancing on one block in the middle.

Zelda had to admit that it was so horribly strange seeing Link act… _normal_. Since she brought him in, he had been nothing but polite to all the adults and children, although he seemed to be more of his reserved self around her older cousins. She could understand him being polite to her parents and aunts and uncles; she'd seen him act much of the same to teachers and the employees at the printing office—but she would have _never_ guessed that he would work so well with kids. Or at least, much better than she would have ever imagined him to.

"Okay, let's see…" Link rubbed his chin, studying the tower closely. He tentatively reached over to try and wiggle a block on the side in the middle of the tower, but just as his fingers touched it, the tower fell to the side, crashing with a loud clatter.

"Noooo!" Talo cried out while Beth laughed victoriously.

"Sorry Talo," Link shrugged, patting the boy on his shoulder. "They got us."

"It's okay," Talo shrugged before sticking his tongue out to Beth. "I didn't want to win anyway!"

"Quit being a baby!" Beth sneered at him.

"Beth, Talo!" A heavy-set, middle aged woman called their names. They looked over to their mother, Sera. "You two want some dessert?"

"Dessert, all right!" Talo grinned excitedly, getting up and running over to his mom.

"Yes, Mom!" Beth beamed just as widely. She got up, but before walking over to Sera, she turned to Link and Zelda.

"Thanks for playing with us, Zelda!" She smiled. She looked over to Link, and she started grinning girlishly, giggling some. "Bye, Uncle Link!" She waved, saying it in a sing-song tone.

Link just waved back slightly, returning the smile awkwardly. Zelda looked at them back and forth and tried hard to stifle a laugh. It was obvious that since Link came, Beth had immediately developed a crush on him; and he, who had noticed as well, was obviously trying to act normally around her.

"Cute kids," Link said, stacking the blocks back into a tower to put back into the box.

"Beth seems to like you especially," Zelda teased. He just snorted at that, rolling his eyes at her.

"Not much my type, I'm afraid," he muttered, putting the box over the tower. He slid it over to the edge and, using his hand to keep the blocks from falling off the table, turned it right side up so that they remained stacked inside the box. "I'm going to get more food."

"Help yourself," she replied. "We're gonna have to get rid of it all somehow."

Link grabbed his plastic plate and fork and got up. "Should have invited Pipit if that's the problem."

Zelda chuckled softly, remembering what Karane had said about Pipit, Darunia and Midna. As Link left, she took the Jenga box and put it under one of the side tables next to the sofa with the other board games. She walked back to the coffee table and picked up her empty plate and went to the kitchen to throw it away.

She walked behind Link where the trash can was, watching him stack his plate with more food while all the adults sitting around the dining table were giving him knowing smiles.

"So Link," Zelda's Aunt Pergie started, her chin resting on the backs of her fingers. "How long have you and our Zelda been dating?"

Upon overhearing the question, Zelda impulsively pressed on the pedal that opened the lid to the trash can so hard that the lid snapped upwards. The metal lid smacked against the wall behind with a loud clank, startling everyone in the room. Everyone at the table including Link turned around to look at her questioningly; she just sheepishly laughed, quietly throwing away her plate and fork.

Link cocked an eyebrow at her, the serving spoon for the noodles still in his hand, before turning back to Pergie and smiled, shaking his head. "She and I aren't dating, ma'am. I'm just her editor for our school newspaper."

"So you're an editor there, son?" Pergie's husband Jaggle asked.

"Editor-in-chief, sir," he replied, putting the serving spoon back.

All the adults "Ooh'ed" at that, looking at each other and nodding in approval. Zelda just rolled her eyes; were none of you not listening? He just said they were just co-workers!

"What does your father do, Link?" Zelda's father asked.

"…He's the editor-in-chief of _The Great Hylia_," Link answered after a short pause. Everyone looked up to him at that in amazement.

"The _Great Hylia?_"

"You're from _that_ Avalon family?"

"No wonder the name sounded familiar!"

"Well I'll be damned, my boy!" Zelda's father laughed heartily. "You're the Avalon heir! It all makes sense!" He glanced over to Zelda, who was watching on nervously. "Why didn't you tell me your editor was _the_ Avalon family's son, girl! So Link, you'll be taking over the company when you grow up?"

Link looked at him for a second. Zelda leaned over to try to get a better look at his face; she could tell he was starting to get uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going into.

"The arrangement my parents planned is that my older brother and I become co-owners of the company," Link replied, swallowing a bit. "He's going to be the editor of the morning edition of the paper and I'll take over the evening edition."

"Now won't you listen to that?" Zelda's father grinned to the other adults. "So what are we looking at for majors? Business administration? Economics? Maybe journalism would be more suitable for that you…"

"Actually, sir," Link started. "…The thing is that I'm hoping to turn over my share of the company inheritance fully to my brother."

Zelda's father's brow shot up at that, and the entire table fell silent.

"I applied to the University of Hyrule for music," the blond added. "I've been playing the piano since I was seven and I really enjoy it. I'm actually hoping to put it to professional use in the future."

"…Oh," was all her father said, nodding slowly. "…That… sounds nice too."

"Dad," Zelda started in a scolding tone.

"No, it's fine," Link looked over his shoulder to her, before back to her father. "…Sir, I know that may not have been the answer you were expecting or possibly approve of. My family doesn't approve of it either, but it's what I want to do. I don't think my father's name should tie me down regardless of how well for life it would set me."

He bowed his head slightly and raised his newly stocked plate of food. "Excuse me." With that, he walked out of the dining area and back into the living room.

After a short pause, Zelda walked over to her father and looked at him and everyone at the table. "Dad, it's bad enough that you do that kind of thing with me. You don't need to be that judgmental with other peoples' kids."

She left the table in a huff and headed in Link's direction, back to the living room.

"I'm so sorry about that," Zelda apologized to Link as she walked up to him, who was sitting down at the sofa eating his food while watching TV.

He looked up at her, his mouth filled with food, before swallowing it down and shook his head. "I told you, it's fine. I'm used to that kind of thing, remember?"

She furrowed her brow slightly at him, thinking back to that one time in the office before they left for the printing office for the first time.

_"College and major choices and things like that."_

_"Tell me about it."_

"Yeah…" She shrugged. "Well, I still think it was wrong for them to come on so strongly."

"You mean about my major or the thought of us dating?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he just snickered at her response.

"Damn Newbie, you're way too serious," he shook his head, picking up a salt and peppered chicken wing and taking a bite out of it.

Zelda just rolled her eyes at him before swatting his shoulder. "I told you to quit calling me that. And either way, come with me."

He glanced over to her. "To where?"

"Just come on," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Bring the food, if you must."

**…**

"Nice room," Link whistled softly, slowly walking into Zelda's bedroom.

Her room was quite spacious; much more space than one person would take, honestly. Despite that, it was rather lightly furnished, with a low queen sized bed against the wall to the left with nightstands on either side of it, and a wall mounted flat screen TV across from it. Her desk and bookshelf were to the right of the bed, cluttered with various open books and papers of winter break homework. To the left of her TV was her vanity mirror with a counter and sink, and a door that led to the toilet and shower, like a hotel. Two sliding doors that led to her closet were to the right of the TV.

"Thanks," Zelda replied, turning the lights on and closing the door behind her.

"Why are we here though?" He asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin he held under his plate.

"I wanted to talk to you in private," she answered, walking across the room. "And my cousins are out in the balcony downstairs, so we're talking on mine."

"…Right." He raised an eyebrow as she unlocked the windowed door to her balcony and opened it for him. He nodded in acknowledgement, walking outside, and she turned on the balcony lights for him. The night was a brisk cool, which was rather abnormal considering winters in Castle Town could be especially cold.

"So you said you wanted to talk?" He asked her, turning around to look at her, but she wasn't there.

"Here," Zelda poked her head out of the doorway. She stepped fully out to the balcony and closed the door behind her, and she handed him a light green gift bag. His brow shot up at the sight of it and he put his plate down on the side table next to one of the patio chairs. He wiped his hands on his jeans and took the bag slowly.

"Happy Triforce Day," she smiled.

"…What's this?" He asked.

"It's your Secret Nohansen gift," she replied. "From when you were too sick to go to school two weeks ago so I could give it to you during the banquet."

He smiled slightly at her sarcastic tone, looking at the tissue wrapping that covered the contents. "You mean _you_ were my Secret Nohansen?"

She just shrugged. "Funny how things work."

He just chuckled softly, shaking his head, and took the first few layers of tissue wrapping out. "It's, uh, kind of heavy. What's in here?"

"That's why you take more of the wrapping out," she smirked. "So you can find out."

He grabbed out the last layer of tissue wrapper, then looked up at her slowly. "…Are you kidding me?"

He set the bag on the table next to his food, and took out the contents one by one. "…Aspirin… Sleeping agents… Throat lozenges… Nutrition drinks… Are these anti-diarrheal tablets?"

"You were sick the entire production cycle of the last issue," Zelda folded her arms over her chest. "And you missed class on Friday. I told you, it's no good if our editor-in-chief is missing, so you might as well take better care of your health."

He just looked up at her again, cocking an eyebrow.

"And you're _my_ neighbor!" She leaned forward, making eye contact with him. "If you die of sickness, it'll be _me_ who'll discover the body, and you're already enough trouble for me living!"

Link couldn't help but laugh at her and the gift. "…This… _This_ is something."

"What's wrong with a gift being practical?" She shrugged again, putting her hands on her hips. "And there's something else."

"You mean there's _more?_" He asked in disbelief. "I don't think I could handle any more of an already unsexy gift."

She rolled her eyes at his comment. "Just look in the bag."

Link eyed her suspiciously for a second before looking back in. He rummaged through it, and sure enough he saw it, buried underneath the boxes of painkillers and liquid medicines. He reached in and pulled it out. It was a paperback book covered in shrink wrap.

"_100 Songs to Learn on the Piano Before You Die_," he read the title of the book out loud, ripping the plastic wrapping off it. He turned it over to the back cover, and on it was a list of all 100 songs the book contained sheet music to.

"I don't know what kind of music you like," Zelda said after a short silence. "But that book covers all sorts of genres, so there's bound to be at least one song in there you like."

"I actually see a few already," he said, scanning the list. He turned it back to the front and flipped through the pages. He looked up at her with a smirk. "And is the title of this songbook supposed to be a play on part one of this present?"

"_That_ was a coincidence, believe it or not."

"But I never told you I play piano before tonight," he said, raising an eyebrow again.

"Pipit told me before," she said. "And I saw your keyboard in your apartment the first time I came over. I found that at the bookstore down the street. Thought you'd find a way to make some use of it."

"And I will make use of it," he nodded. "And the medicine too, I suppose… This is… really nice. Thank you."

"It was nothing," she shrugged, walking towards the ledge of the balcony to lean on the banister. "But you're welcome."

"…Hey," she heard him speak again. She looked over his shoulder, and saw him reach into the kangaroo pockets of his hoodie. He pulled out a small rectangle covered in Triforce Day themed wrapping paper and handed it to her.

"Happy Triforce Day," he said, looking her in the eye.

"…Darunia was my Secret Nohansen though," she said, genuinely confused.

He shook his head. "This isn't a Secret Nohansen gift."

She raised her brow in surprise at that, slowly taking the wrapped package. Link was actually giving her a gift outside of obligation?

"I meant to drop by and give it to you after I got better," he said. "But you came by my place and invited me here before I could, so might as well give it to you tonight while it's still Triforce Day."

She looked up at him. "You're still sick?"

He shrugged, scratching his eyebrow with his index finger. "I'm better than I was the last few weeks at least. Open it."

Zelda looked down and used her nails to untape the wrapping paper, slowly revealing the contents. It was a small pocketbook. She turned it over to the front cover to read the title, and almost broke out laughing when she read it.

"_50 Ways to Deal With Your Hardass of a Boss?_" She grinned at the book, fighting off a laugh.

"That might have only been coincidence as well," he chuckled almost inaudibly.

"I… I like this," she giggled, looking up at him. It showed that Link was able to poke fun at himself, if anything. She had to give him credit for that much. "Thanks."

Link shook his head. "No problem."

Zelda took the wrapping paper and crumpled it in one fist. "…By the way. You never told me why you don't like when people say bye or something."

Link just sighed, leaning his back against the banister. "I don't know. I just don't like the word 'goodbye.' It sounds like I'll never see the person again. Saying something like 'I'll see you later' sounds less final, I guess."

She just looked at him as he spoke, her head tilted to the side. She had to admit that it sounded a bit odd hearing something like that from Link of all people. At the same time, though, it actually didn't surprise her all that much, especially taking into consideration what Pipit and Raven said about him being clingy as a kid. Probably had some really bad separation anxiety that he never grew out of.

"…Well, I guess we should go back inside then?" She offered. "I can smell the cigarettes from the balcony downstairs."

"Is that where that was coming from?" He asked. He watched her walk over to the ledge and look down.

"Yeah, it's my cousins," she replied. "…I suppose you'd want to join them?"

He shook his head again. "I quit."

Zelda's eyes widened at that. "Since when?"

Link rolled up his sleeve and showed her a large bandage looking patch on his forearm near his elbow. "A few months ago. When you said smoking was unattractive."

She just started at him quietly, and she remembered that one time when she noticed a similar looking patch on the same place on his arm. So that's what that patch was? But wait! …She _did_ say that, the first time he tried teaching her how to edit and he came in from a smoking break and smelled the tobacco on him. So he quit smoking… for her?

"But it means nothing, right?" He asked with a knowing look as he rolled the sleeve back down. "Quitting smoking because a girl said it wasn't cute doesn't make a relationship, huh?"

His words echoed what she had said a few weeks before.

_"Don't get any ideas. Offering a tissue paper is hardly the basis for a relationship."_

"…Right," she nodded slowly after a pause, her brow furrowed in thought. She walked past him back to the door leading to her room and opened it, stepping aside so he could walk through. He grabbed his plate and his gift bag and walked in, and she quietly followed.

"Thanks again for the gift," Link said to her as she walked over to her desk. She put the booklet Link gave her next to her laptop and threw the wrapping paper in her trash can. "Really."

"It's fine," she shook her head "I'm glad you like it." She turned around and made for the door.

"I do." Link tried hard to fight off a smile as he whispered softly to himself. "I actually feel… loved, for once."

Zelda turned around and raised an eyebrow, not hearing what Link just muttered under his breath. "What?"

He looked up at her, and she was waiting by the door. He just shook his head and walked past her back into the hallway as she turned off her bedroom lights and closed the door behind them.

"Nothing."

* * *

I don't know if any of you know, but today June 24, 2012 Pacific Time marks eight years since I first started this account and published my first story! I actually wrote exclusively for _Final Fantasy X _up until _The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess _came out and then I wrote my first _Zelda_ story at the end of 2006 and then I ruined the entire fandom with my work uarihegethksteh D: None of my pre-2006 works exist anymore though, since I deleted them long ago (they were just _that_ bad D:), but it still kind of blows my mind that I've been writing fan fiction since I was in sixth grade (I was 12 then I think, since I'm 20 now). That's why I made it a really big point to myself that I get this chapter out today as a little celebration, and a very, _very_ big thank you to everyone who's been reading and stuck with me over the years. Here's to hoping that there will be more to come, and that I will actually get better for once!

(Because there are people who can update weekly and their writing is actually quality, while I'm just kind of here struggling to get one out in a month if I can rikleglukva how do you all do that! I MUST LEARN HOW TO BE TIMELY AND QUALITY BECAUSE I AM EVIDENTLY NEITHER)

Until the next chapter comes out, I'd love to hear from you! Sorry to everyone who's been messaging me that I haven't been able to get back to in the most timeliest manner, but one on one conversations with my readers is probably the most gratifying thing about writing. And for those who have been asking if it's okay to follow me on my Tumblr (the link to which is in my profile), I certainly don't mind at all!

Feedback and criticism of the constructive persuasion is always highly valued.

_Enjoy Life and Smile._


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